Lecture 15 - Competition and Intrinsic Motivation

Question 1

Prof’s stories

Answer 1

Competition to “prepare for the real world”
Prof suggests work productively and cooperatively with others rather than competitively with others

The 5-19 Regis Owls 1976
He was the captain
Senior year basketball at Madison square garden
Missed a lot
Pressure and yelled at by coach
Lost intrinsic motivation to play basketball

Question 2

Scanlon’s (1992) Model
of Sports Commitment

Answer 2

 Commitment = desire and resolve to
continue sports participation.

 Is a function of five factors:
 (1) Sports enjoyment
 (2) Involvement Opportunities… competence, being apart
 (3) Personal Investments… more you’ve invested, more likely to stick with it (prof thinks it’s the opposite, more of a mixed bag, neutral)
 (4) Involvement Alternatives (negative factor… what other activities you could be doing)
 (5) Social Constraints (negative factor… too much pressure can undermine commitment)

Missing factor? Competition (according to the prof) undermines commitment

Ballet school
Competition never ends

Question 3

1981 study by Deci

Answer 3

 “try to beat the
other person”
versus “do your
best”
 Always allowed to
beat the other
person.

Task of puzzle solving
Competing or not competing
Against a (secretly) confederate
“try to beat the other person” vs. “do your best”
Always let the participant win
Free choice paradigm: Secretly observed (hidden two-way mirror… hide the obvious mirror,
Results:
Only half as much behavioral interest in competition condition (stayed less long during choice period)

Competition cut intrinsic interest in half

Question 4

Csikzentmihalyi, 1975

Answer 4

 Reasons for enjoying basketball.
1. Competition/measuring self vs others.
2. Development of personal skills.
3. Friendships.
4. Activity itself.
5. Enjoyment of experience/use of skills.
6. Measuring self against own ideals
7. Prestige/Glamour/Rewards
8. Emotional Release

Question 5

A Resolution:
Reeve and Deci (1996)

Answer 5

 Examined whether competition can
sometimes decrease and sometimes
enhance i.m.
 Competition/lose (control condition)
 competition/controlling
 competition/informational

 Non-Controlling Competition: “Try to outperform the
other person by solving the puzzles faster”
 Controlling Competition: “It doesn’t matter how fast or
slow you solve each puzzle, or whether you figure out
how the puzzle works, the only thing that matters is
that you win the competition. So focus all of your
attention on being the winner.”
 Reminded prior to each trial either to:
 -> “solve your puzzles faster.”
-> “focus all your attention on being the winner.”

-Whether lost or won
-Whether the way competition was introduced was controlling or informational
Non-controlling vs. controlling competition
Control = you lose (in the non-controlling condition)

Results:
-Non-controlling and winning = highest level of intrinsic motivation
-In controlling condition, level of intrinsic motivation same as losing (low)
-Competence explains why people who lost lost intrinsic motivation afterwards
But if feel controlled and win, may feel competent, but still low motivation
Weren’t allowed the controlling + losing condition
Why?
-fear too emotionally upsetting
-unethical
-protected from it
In real life, high control competition and losing is not something you can just be protected against!

 “The results suggest that winning a
competition may not undermine i.m. if
there is not undue pressure to win.
Unfortunately, it seems that the
unyielding focus on winning in our
society – whether in sports or school –
may be creating a pressuring context
that can have quite negative effects on
individuals experience & motivation. “

Question 6

Return to prof’s story

Answer 6

his brother never got involved in competitive sports, but rather informal sports

goal is to have fun, not just to win

Gillian
schizophrenia researcher, neuroscientist
played soccer
volunteered to be a coach assistant on a girl’s soccer team (8 year olds)
Chipmunk team
The coach (man) Made everyone play equally
Team improved
Coach sat out 2 kids
-they were on the bench crying
-one of the girls was his own daughter!
Point: you can take the nicest person (the coach), subject them to a competitive setting, and they will start acting in a highly controlling, competitive way

Question 7

Sportsmanship

Answer 7

Hockey players… violence and swearing…

Sportsmanship diminishes with competition

No respect even for the authority (referee)
-by kids and by their parents

Even threats

(Vallerand & Losier, 1994) study
 Description of two speed skaters who vary in
their emphasis on competition:
 “Although she enjoys the game, she plays
mostly for the trophies, medals, and
recognition she gets from winning. Because her
main goal is to win, she uses all the tricks in
the book to find an edge and beat her
opponent. It does not really matter if she has
to cut off or trip her opponents. As long as she
wins, that is all that matters.”

 Description of motivation based in intrinsic
motivation:
 “Plays mostly because of the fun and pleasure
she derives from participation and personal
excellence. Trophies and medals are fine but
do not represent the main reason for her
involvement in speed skating. Because her
primary goal is to outdo herself, lack of respect
for the rules, the game or other skaters would
not help in getting closer to this objective.”

Design and Measures:
 Quebec midget elite AAA hockey players
completed survey at beginning and end of
hockey season.
 Sportsmanship:
 “I respect the official, even if he is not so good”
 “When my opponent injures himself, I do not take
advantage of the situation.
Competitive Motivation
Time 1 significantly
predicts reduced
sportsmanship at
time 2, r = -.33
Basically: Sportsmanship diminishes

Question 8

Latest Review of Competition and
Intrinsic Motivation

Answer 8

 The dark side of
competition
 Competitive Ethics
and Poor
Sportspersonship
 Acceptance of
Cheating
 Doping
 Post-competition
Aggression

Seoul 1988 Ben Johnson and the dirtiest
race in history.
6 of 8 later found to be using steroids.

Question 9

Return to Ballet Director: Is it
critical to teach competitive skills?

Answer 9

Consider recent
research on skills
needed for 21st
century jobs:
the jobs that have grown most consistently in the last two decades have been those that require high math skills and high social skills

not competition!
and as we saw, competition decreases sportsmanship (so social skills)

Also besides goals, we also have roles
-friend
-romantic partner
-parent*
(think of the soccer coach and his sitting his daughter on the bench…is competition more important than scarring her?)