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Competition Can Enhance Motivation-But Typically Undermines It (Essay 4.4)
Reeve, Johnmarshall
Reeve, Johnmarshall
Author
Abstract
Competition means “beat the other.” As an environmental event, competition offers a curious mix of attractive and exciting versus pressuring and demoralizing aspects. In competition, there is something to gain, such as an optimal challenge and a goal to strive for, but also something to fear, such as evaluative pressure, poor sportspersonship, and ruptured relationships. Thus, competition is a complex social event that features numerous motivational crosscurrents. Competition can be motivationally constructive—when offered in an informational, needs-supportive, and intrinsic motivation-friendly way, but competition can also be motivationally destructive—when offered in a pressuring, needs-thwarting, ego-involving, and extrinsic motivation-promoting way.
Keywords
challenge, competition, controlling, ego-involvement, high stakes, informational, motivational crosscurrents, pressure to win
Date
2023
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
Motivation Science : Controversies and Insights
Volume
Issue
Page Range
165
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.