Elements of the Competitive Situation that Affect Intrinsic Motivation

Reeve, Johnmarshall; Deci, Edward L.

doi:10.1177/0146167296221003

Cited by 328 publications

(278 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Deutsch (1949) defined competition in purely situational terms -as a setting in which the goal attainment of participants is negatively linked, so that the success of one participant comes at the failure of the other. Following from this definition, studies on inter-individual competition have typically examined participants in a laboratory setting, pitting them against one another or against confederates of the experimenter (e.g., Beersma, Hollenbeck, Humphrey, Moon, & Conlon, 2003;Deci, Betley, Kahle, Abrams, & Porac, 1981;Reeve and Deci, 1996;Scott & Cherrington, 1974;Stanne, Johnson, & Johnson, 1999;Tauer & Harackiewicz, 1999). For example, participants are paired with a confederate and told to try to complete more puzzles than this person (Deci et al, 1981).…”

Section: Background and Theory Development Prior Research On Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychology of Rivalry: A Relationally Dependent Analysis of Competition

Kilduff

Elfenbein

Staw

2010

AMJ

433

430

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We investigate the psychological phenomenon of rivalry, and propose a view of competition as inherently relational, thus extending the literatures on competition between individuals, groups, and firms. Specifically, we argue that the relationships between competitors -as captured by their proximity, relative attributes and prior competitive interactions -can influence the subjective intensity of rivalry between them, which in turn can affect their competitive behavior. Initial tests of these ideas within NCAA basketball indicate that (1) dyadic relationships between teams are highly influential in determining perceptions of rivalry (2) similarity between teams and their histories of prior interactions are systematically predictive of rivalry and (3) rivalry may affect the motivation and performance of team members. These findings suggest significant implications for both the management of employees and the competitive strategies taken by organizations. Airways after the latter admitted to having launched a "dirty tricks" campaign against its rival, which included calling Virgin's customers and lying to them about flight cancellations in addition to circulating rumors that Virgin CEO Richard Branson was infected with HIV (Branson, 1998). In a slightly less scandalous example, Boston Scientific recently overpaid for its acquisition of Guidant -later referred to as "arguably the second-worst" acquisition ever -in large part because it was bidding against rival Johnson & Johnson (Malhotra, Ku, & Murnighan, 2008;Tully, 2006).It is evident from these examples that rivalry can be a powerful psychological phenomenon with substantial behavioral consequences. To date, however, the psychology of rivalry has received little attention from researchers, which is symptomatic of a broader lack of study on the relationships between competitors. We attempt to fill this gap by presenting a theory of rivalry as a subjective relationship between competitors, and by investigating its antecedents and consequences. In doing so, we draw upon the literatures on competition between individuals, groups, and organizations. After outlining our theoretical model, we conduct a first-test of our hypotheses within a setting known to be rife with rivalry: NCAA basketball. BACKGROUND AND THEORY DEVELOPMENT

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Section: Background and Theory Development Prior Research On Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychology of Rivalry: A Relationally Dependent Analysis of Competition

Kilduff

Elfenbein

Staw

2010

AMJ

433

430

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“…There is some evidence for the importance of the way that achievement goals are promoted. First, Reeve and Deci (1996) showed that being pressured to outperform an opponent when working on an interesting puzzle solving task led to less subsequent intrinsic motivation compared to competing against an opponent under more informational circumstances. Second, similar findings were reported in a correlational study by Ciani, Middleton, Summers, and Sheldon (2010) who found that a performance-approach classroom structure was no longer negatively related to students' personal mastery-approach…”

Section: Theoretical Considerations One Question That May Arise At Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving the Achievement Goal Approach One Step Forward: Toward a Systematic Examination of the Autonomous and Controlled Reasons Underlying Achievement Goals

Vansteenkiste

Lens

Elliot³

et al. 2014

Educational Psychologist

139

142

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An important recent development in the achievement goal literature is to define achievement goals strictly as aims. In this overview, we argue that this restrictive definition of achievement goals paves the way for a systematic consideration of the autonomous and controlled reasons underlying individuals' achievement goals, a distinction central to Self-Determination Theory.To stimulate work in this area, we formulated five propositions, arguing that consideration of the "why" (i.e., type of reasons) in addition to the "what" (i.e., type of aims) of achievement goals, (a) provides an account for the regulatory basis of achievement goals, (b) opens the door for other motivation theories to be linked to the achievement goal literature, (c) matters in terms of predicting outcomes, (d) allows for a richer account of contextual forces influencing motivation, and (e) sets the stage for an enriched hierarchical model of achievement motivation. In closing, we discuss various future research directions. Towards a Systematic Examination of the Autonomous and Controlled Reasons Underlying Achievement GoalsThe literature on achievement goals has burgeoned over the past 30 years. By relying on cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental methodologies, scholars in diverse domains, including education, sport, and work, have documented the correlates and effects of different types of achievement goals (Elliot, 2005;Hulleman, Schrager, Bodmann, & Harackiewicz, 2010; Kaplan & Maehr, 2007; Murayama, Elliot, & Friedman, 2011; Van Yperen, Blaga, & Postmes, in press). The aim of the present contribution is to review recent empirical work that has just begun to systematically consider people's underlying reasons for adopting and pursuing achievement goals. Vansteenkiste, Niemiec, & Soenens, 2010). SDT is a well-validated theory, which has a long tradition of examining the reasons underlying individuals' activity engagement and thus proved ideally suited to theorize about and examine the reasons underlying individuals' achievement goal pursuit. Within SDT, it is maintained that these reasons can vary in their level of autonomy and volition relative to control and pressure. When learners' achievement goal pursuit is controlled regulated, they feel pressured, either from the outside or from within, to pursue and attain particular achievement goals. Instead, when learners' achievement goal pursuit is autonomously regulated, they have either fully endorsed the goal or they experience the goal pursuit as inherently satisfying and challenging. To illustrate, when taking an entrance exam at the beginning of college, learners could feel pressured by their parents 3 Reasons underlying Achievement Goals (i.e., controlled reason) to outperform their peers (i.e., performance-approach goal) or they could more willingly pursue the goal of doing better than their peers because they foresee the personal benefits of doing so (i.e., autonomous reason). Similarly, due to time constraints, learners could feel pressured (i.e., controlled rea...

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“…Specifically, athletes who perceived their coaches to predominantly display autocratic and controlling behaviours demonstrated less intrinsic motivation. These findings indicate that it may not be the reward per se that undermines intrinsic motivation, but the way suggests that rewards which are delivered in a controlling and pressuring interpersonal context 3 will undermine intrinsic motivation (Reeve & Deci, 1996;Vansteenkiste & Deci, 2003).…”

Section: Motivation and Autonomy-supportive And Controlling Interpersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of controlling motivational strategies from a self-determination theory perspective: implications for sports coaches

Bartholomew

Ntoumanis

Thøgersen‐Ntoumani

2009

International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology

241

201

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The aim of this paper is to present a preliminary taxonomy of six controlling strategies, primarily based on the parental and educational literatures, which we believe are employed by coaches in sport contexts. Research in the sport and physical education literature has primarily focused on coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviours. Surprisingly, there has been very little research on the use of controlling strategies. A brief overview of the research which delineates each proposed strategy is presented, as are examples of the potential manifestation of the behaviours associated with each strategy in the context of sports coaching. In line with selfdetermination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985;Ryan & Deci, 2002), we propose that coach behaviours employed to pressure or control athletes have the potential to thwart athletes' feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which, in turn, undermine athletes' selfdetermined motivation and contribute to the development of controlled motives. When athletes feel pressured to behave in a certain way, a variety of negative consequences are expected to ensue which are to the detriment of the athletes' well-being. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness and interest in the darker side of sport participation and to offer suggestions for future research in this area.

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Elements of the Competitive Situation that Affect Intrinsic Motivation

Cited by 328 publications

References 24 publications

The Psychology of Rivalry: A Relationally Dependent Analysis of Competition

The Psychology of Rivalry: A Relationally Dependent Analysis of Competition

Moving the Achievement Goal Approach One Step Forward: Toward a Systematic Examination of the Autonomous and Controlled Reasons Underlying Achievement Goals

A review of controlling motivational strategies from a self-determination theory perspective: implications for sports coaches

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