Learning Objectives

1. Recognize how Lance Armstrong’s story confirms the conventional wisdom that people who cheat are morally weak.
2. Describe the prevalence of doping in sports.
3. Explain how the winner-take-all society concept offers a sociological perspective on cheating across different settings.
4. Discuss how the use of various common drugs resembles the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes but is not considered cheating.
5. Explain how the medicalization of certain conditions supports the winner-take-all mindset.
6. Discuss how cheating can be understood as an affirmation of mainstream American values.