COMPETITION & COOPERATION

GROUP C&C

WHAT IS COMPETITION?
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.

REWARD-BASED 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

PROBLEMS WITH THE REWARD DEFINITION

Competition A situation in which rewards are distributed unequally on the basis of performance by the participants 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 versus extrinsic rewards

MORE PROBLEMS WITH THE REWARD DEFINITION

differences between competition and cooperation are emphasized rather than their similarities You have to cooperate in order to compete

COMPETITION AS A PROCESS
Martens Process Model four-stages to the competitive process explains why people respond differently to competition social comparison process

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

STAGE #2: SUBJECTIVE COMPETITIVE SITUATION

How an athlete perceives, accepts, and appraises the O.C.S.

S.C.S. is affected by personality traits, perceived importance of competition, perception of the comparison standard, and perceived response capabilities

As a result, athletes may seek out competition, enter it reluctantly, or attempt to avoid it

STAGE #3: RESPONSE

After the appraisal of the O.C.S., athletes experience positive and negative adaptations, preparing them for competition
physiologically psychologically behaviorally

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 participating These consequences impact

short- and long-term emotions perceptions of competence future decisions to compete

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

IS COMPETITION A POWERFUL MOTIVATOR?

TYPICALLY: Yes, competition enhances motivation. WHEN MOST POWERFUL: Competition provides the greatest motivation when the level of challenge is moderately difficult and matches the current capabilities of the athlete

IS COMPETITION A GOOD QUALITY CONTROL DEVICE?

TYPICALLY: Competition is an effective strategy to improve skill. WHEN BAD: Competition can prompt athletes to sacrifice long-term improvement in order to achieve short-term success. Learning curves are seldom linear, and athletes seldom are willing to accept the decline in performance learning new skills if competition is emphasized.

DOES COMPETITION ENHANCE CHARACTER?

TYPICALLY: Competition develops positive character traits TRUTH: Winning can be a double-edge sword for teaching character development

COMPETITION IMPACTS CHARACTER MULTIPLE WAYS

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.

DOES COMPETITION HELP ATHLETES COOPERATE?

TYPICALLY: We live in a highly interdependent and cooperative society. We have to cooperate much more often each day than compete. Competition helps athletes develop important cooperative skills.

COMPETITION VERSUS COOPERATION: WHAT THE RESEARCH TELLS US

Cooperative activities produce more open communication, sharing, trust, friendship, and enhanced performance compared with competitive activities

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

COOPERATION NECESSARY TO COMPETE

Teamwork is an important type of withinteam cooperation. Between-team cooperation includes . . .

scheduling rules, and mutual commitment to give their best effort.

ASSOCIATION MODEL OF COMPETITION

Cooperative

cooperative games frisbee assembly lines

Noncompetitive Competitive

sport

hermit

war without rules

Noncooperative

IS COMPETITION GOOD OR BAD?

Competition is neither good nor bad. It is simply a neutral process . How competition is experienced depends on how it is organized and conducted. Coaches, administrators and parents determine how competition is experienced.