COMPETITIVENESS, SCHOOL MOTIVATION AND SELF-CONCEPT IN DIFFERENT NATIONAL SETTINGS

1. COMPETITIVENESS, SCHOOL MOTIVATION AND SELF-CONCEPT IN DIFFERENT NATIONAL SETTINGS Darja Kobal Grum Department of Psychology University of Ljubljana, Slovenia E-mail: darja.kobal@ff.uni-lj.si Janez Kolenc Educational Research Institute, Slovenia

2. Why to study the C and SC together? The first part of the answer: • If we examine competitiveness (C) in the framework of self-concept (SC), we reveal not only its negative but also its positive aspects • We presume that C has a significant role ina model of SC.

3. Self-concept SC is an organized cognitive set of traits, opinions, attitudes, notions, beliefs and other mental contents that an individual has about him/her-self.

4. Competitiveness • C refers to different psychological characteristics of an individual that are based on or derived from the rate of domination of a certain type of motive in the individual.

5. Two types of competitiveness Ryckman’s postulation of competitiveness (Ryckman, Libby, van den Borne, Gold, & Lindner, 1997; Ryckman, Thornton, & Butler, 1994): • hyper-competitiveness (HC) • personal development competitiveness (PDC).

6. Hyper-competitiveness 1 • HC is a motive; • the individual tries to achieve a goal irrespective of the means to be used • He/she primarily takes care of his/herself and uses on the way various techniques from manipulation, aggressiveness to exploitation, etc. • A hyper-competitive individual values highly achievements, hedonism, power, stimulation, and is egocentrically oriented

7. Hyper-competitiveness 2 • The individual or group aim to beat or eliminate the other persons • They usually compete also in situations that are not of competitive nature

8. Personal development competitiveness (PDC) 1 • PDC is a motive • the main emphasis is not on winning, but on own personal development, which is result of the experience that the individual has gained in competitive situations

9. Personal development competitiveness (PDC) 2 • He/she is focused on self-development, self-discovery and discovery of his/her potentials • He/she follows the standards of excellency, wants to make progress and do something as good as he/she can.

10. Why to study the C and SC together? The second part of the answer: • In our study, we try to reject a stereotype, that C is not a desired personal characteristic. • If C is investigated in a context of SC, also positive dimensions as well as correlations with SC areas could appear. • A model of SC and C could be postulated. • This model might differ from culture/nation to culture/nation.

11. The purposes of our study • Are there any differences in self-concept and competition among participants from different countries? • The investigation of the correlations between self-concept and competition • Postulation of a multidimensional model of self-concept and competition.

12. Subjects • 464 first-year students • Slovenia (N= 169) • Serbia and Monte Negro (N=155) • Spain (N=140) • They were selected on the grounds of comparable educational programs and similar age (19 years).

13. Measuring instruments and variables • Self-concept: Self Description questionnaire (SDQ III; Marsh and O'Neill, 1984) • School motivation: Inventory of School Motivation (ISM;McInerney et al., 1997) • Competetiveness: A measure of personal attitudes concerning competitiveness (Ryckman et al., 1996), Hypercompetitive attitude scale (Ryckman et al., 1990).

14. Mathematics Verbal Academic Problem solving/Creativity Physical abilities Physical appearance Relation with same sex peers Relations with opposite sex peers Relations with parents Religion/Spirit. Honesty/Reliability Emotional stability/Security General self-concept Self-concept areas(SDQ III)

15. Task Effort Sense of purpose Social power Affiliation Social concern Praise Token General motivation Mastery general Performance general Social general School motivation fields (ISM)

16. Competitiveness • Hyper-competitiveness • Personal development competitiveness

17. Additional data • Nationality • Age • Gender • Type of study

18. Results Correlation analysis – all threenations • HC and PDC do not correlate with SC areas • Both HC as well as PDC are more related to school motivation than to self-concept • The hypothesis of competitiveness as part of the self-concept model is questionable if we analyse all three nations as a whole

19. Results Correlation analysis – different nations • Both HC as well as PDC are more related to school motivation than to self-concept • PDC correlates with mathematics (Slo), sincerity (-; Ser),verbal, academic, problem solving, physical abilities, physical appearance, general SC (-; Sp)

20. Results • HC correlates with verbal, physical appearance, relations with same sex peers (-; Ser), academic, physical abilities, sincerity (-; Sp)

21. Table 1: Correlation analysis- Slovenians Correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

22. Table 2: Correlation analysis- Serbians Correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

23. Table 3: Correlation analysis- Spaniards Correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

24. Findings • We do see that there is slightly different structure under the correlations if we analyse all three nations as one sample or if we analyse each national sample separately • The hypothesis of self-concept and competitiveness model is not so questionable if we analyse the participants from each nationality separately

25. Construction of a model • 4 factor analysis (each one with different sample) assumed only one basic model of self-concept and competitiveness

26. Self-concept Performance Mastery Hyper C Personal DC + - - + + + + + - - + + SOC I AL CONCERN AFF I L I AT I ON A CADEMI C SOC I A L EMOT I ONAL GENERAL TOKEN EFFORT SOC I AL POWER SOC I AL GENERAL TASK Figure 1: A multidimensional model of self-concept and competition representing 5 areas

27. Final conclusions and suggestions • There are more correlations between SC and C in cross national settings • One basic model of SC and C could be postulated • The model consists of 5 independent areas: one belongs to self-concept, two belong to school motivation and 2 belong to competitiveness • More advanced analysis would be proposed to deepen the research of structural model

28. Thank you! darja.kobal@ff.uni-lj.si

29. Literature • Marsh, H. W., & O´Neill, R. (1984). Self Description Questionnaire III: The Construct Validity of Multidimensional Self-concept Ratings by Late Adolescents. Journal of Educational Measurement, 21 (2) 153-174. • McInerney, D.M., Roche, L., McInerney, V., & Marsh, H.W. (1997). Cultural perspectives on school motivation: The relevance and application of goal theory. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 207-236. • McInerney, D.M., Yeung, A.S., McInerney, V. (2000). The Meaning of School Motivation: Multidimensional and Hierarchical Perspectives. 81st Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New Orleans. • McInerney, D.M., & Sinclair, K.E. (1991). Cross-cultural model testing: Inventory of School Motivation. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 51, 123-133. • Ryckman, R.M., Hammer, M., Kaczor, L.M., & Gold, J.A. (1990). Construction of Hypercompetitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55 (3&4), 630-639. • Ryckman, R.M., Hammer, M., Kaczor, L.M., & Gold, J.A. (1996). Construction of a Personal development competitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66 (2), 374-385. • Ryckman, R.M., Thornton, B., & Butler, J.C. (1994). Personality correlates of the hypercompetitive attitude scale: Validity tests of Horney’s theory of neurosis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62 (1), 84-94.