Competition

1. Competition Matt Vaartstra University of Idaho Edited from: Andy Gillham and Damon Burton

2. COMPOSE QUICK ANSWERS TO THESE 2 QUESTIONS • What is your personal definition of competition? • What does COMPETITION mean to you?

3. Rewards are often a central component of many personal definitions of competition. Most of us assume that sport creates winners and losers and winners get more perks or rewards than do losers. WHAT IS COMPETITION?

4. Reward Definitions • Competition: A situation in which rewards are distributed unequally on the basis of performance by the performers. • Cooperation: A social process through which performance is evaluated and rewarded in terms of the collective achievements of a group of people working together to reach a particular goal.

5. REWARD-DEFINITION COMPETITION QUIZ • DIRECTIONS – Which of these situations is ‘competition’ according to the Reward Definition? • Participating in a PSYCH 100 experiment and told to “perform their best.” • Same experiment but you get $10 if you perform to some level. • Playing football in the park on Sunday afternoon with friends. • Football game ends in a tie. • You’re alone in your living room trying to make 7 out of 10 putts from 10 feet . • During your daily 5 mile run on your regular course with 3 friends, nobody says anything, but each picks up the pace the last 200 meters trying to finish first.

6. Problems w/ Reward Definitions • For every winner, there has to be one or more losers. • Does not account for differences in individual reactions to competition. • Assumes the ‘reward’ to be the same for every competitor. • Intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards

7. Problems w/ Reward Definitions • Differences between competition and cooperation are emphasized, rather than their similarities. • You have to cooperate in order to compete. • Competition requires both within-team and between-team cooperation.

8. Competition as a Process • Martens’ Process Model • 4 stages to the competitive process • Explains why people respond differently to competition • Social comparison process

9. Stage #1: Objective Competitive Situation • Four objective criteria that must be present in order to conclude that competition is occurring • 1. A standard of comparison is identified for the team or individual • 2. Another person is present • 3. This person knows the standard • 4. This person evaluates whether the standard has been obtained • What are the advantages / disadvantages of the Objective Competitive Situation (OCS)?

10. Stage #2:Subjective Competitive Situation • How an athlete perceives, accepts, and appraises the OCS. • SCS is affected by personality traits, perceived importance of competition, perception of the comparison standard, and perceived response capabilities. • As a result, athletes seek out competition, enter it reluctantly, or attempt to avoid it.

11. Stage #3: Response • After the appraisal of the OCS, athletes experience positive and negative adaptations, preparing them for competition. • Physiologically • Psychologically • Behaviorally

12. Stage #4: Consequences • Athletes’ perception of consequence (e.g., success or failure) is more important than the actual outcome. • Athletes perceive positive or negative consequences as a result of participation. • These consequences impact: • Short and long term emotions • Perceptions of competence • Future decisions to compete

13. Variable Factors in OCS • Social Environment • Presence of others • Who? • How many? • Audience or co-actors? • Attributes of opponents • Ability • Age • Sex

14. Variable Factors in OCS • Physical Environment • Playing field conditions • Weather • Rewards • Tangible • Intangible • Task Characteristics • Performance demands • Rules of contest

15. Martens’ Motto • “Athletes first, winning second” • To broaden Martens’ earlier motto, a revised motto, “Personal excellence- The foundation for success” highlights the relationship shared between personal development and success.

16. Bringing the Motto to Life • ‘Striving to win’ vs. ‘Actually winning’ • Appreciating ‘the journey’ vs. ‘the destination’ • The challenge becomes practicing what you preach. • Community-wide philosophy development.

17. Problems Associated with Competition • ‘Win-at-all-costs’ mentality • Promotes youth sport dropout • Reduces motivation for those that remain involved • Reduces enjoyment for ‘unsuccessful’ competitors • Facilitates a short-term focus only

18. Myths of Competition • Myth 1: Competition is a powerful motivational strategy. • Truth: Competition provides the greatest motivation when the level of challenge is moderately difficult and matches the current capabilities of the athlete.

19. Motivation and Competition High Anxiety MOTIVATION Level ofChallenge Boredom Low Athletes’Skill Level Low High

20. Myths of Competition • Myth 2: Competition is an effective quality control strategy. • Truth: Typically, competition can be an effective strategy to improve a skill. • However, competition leads to short-sightedness, and athletes sacrifice long-term improvement and learning in order to achieve short-term success.

21. Myths of Competition • Myth 3: Competition develops positive character traits. • Truth: Winning can be a double-edge sword for teaching character development. • If athletes wants to win too much, they may lie, cheat, or develop bad character traits. • Athletes who resist temptation, develop positive character traits that last a lifetime.

22. Myths of Competition • Myth 4: Competition is a fair process that insures that the best team normally wins. • Truth: The playing field is rarely level, and even when it is, winning is very uncontrollable and often pursued via unfair methods.

23. Competition: Good or Bad? • Competition is neither good nor bad. Rather, it is simply a neutral process and depends on the athletes’ appraisal of the OCS, response, and perception of consequences.

24. Competition and Cooperation As Complimentary • Competition and cooperation are not polar opposites. • The dynamics of how competition and cooperation complement one another should be taught. • Top performers employ a blend of competition and cooperation strategies.

25. Competition vs. Cooperation • Cooperative activities produce more open communication, sharing, trust, friendship, and enhanced performance compared with competitive activities. • Johnson & Johnson (1985) • Review of 122 studies • Cooperation improved performance more than competition in 65 studies (8 showed opposite effects) • Cooperation improved performance more than individual efforts in 108 studies (6 showed opposite effects) • Questionable tasks and contests however

26. What ways do athletes have to cooperate in order to compete?

27. Association Model of Competition Cooperative Cooperative gamesFrisbeeAssembly lines Sport Noncompetitive Competitive Hermit War with no rules Noncooperative

28. Taking a Hint from Recess • Coakly (1997) • Unorganized games result in increased cooperation, decision making, creativity, and action… things that rule-centered organized sport stifles. • Coaches, teachers, and sport directors should take a hint from the behaviors of children when games are spontaneous.

29. Taking a Hint from Recess • Coakly (1997) • Unorganized sport behaviors: Kids modify games to maximize cooperation, success, and enjoyment. • Increased action and scoring opportunities. • More constant involvement during the game. • Closely-matched teams. • Friendship development and maintenance.