Competition: The Positive And Negative Effects Of Competition

1395 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reward management case

From a young age, parents and teachers encourage children to compete. Teachers give preschoolers stickers for coloring the best, parents reward their children for being the top of the class, and teams get trophies for winning competitions. According to the book Remix, such reward systems are meant to motivate people to be competitive and do their best work (Latterell 185). However, some people worry that too much competition is not always beneficial. Specifically, New York Times states that “watching a peer receive a trophy and not receiving one yourself can be degrading” (Abate). People are encouraged to be competitive, but competition has positive and negative effects such as raising the bar for people to work harder, making expectations …show more content…

People are encouraged to be competitive, but competition can have positive and negative effects such as raising the bar for people to work harder, making expectations too high, preparing people for the future, and causing some people to go against ethical standards. Competition has been embedded in people’s lives ever since they could grasp the concept of competing, and competition can motivate people to success or crumble under the …show more content…

Kung, Michelle. “Google-y Art Wall Competition Shows Off Employees’ Creativity.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 27 Aug. 2010, blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/08/27/google-y-art-wall-competition-shows-off-employees-creativity/. Latterell, Catherine G. Remix: Reading & Composing Culture. 3rd ed., Bedford/St. Martin's,
2017.
Lord, Emma. “6 Reasons You Should Only Compete With Yourself.” Bustle, Bustle, 23 Oct. 2015, www.bustle.com/articles/119026-6-reasons-people-who-compete-with-themselves-are-the-most-successful. Mizutani, Dave. “Eagles Fans Pelt Vikings Team Bus with Beer Cans on Way out of Philadelphia.” Twins Cities Pioneer Express, Digital First Media, 22 Jan. 2018, www.twincities.com/2018/01/22/vikings-adam-thielen-eagles-fans-videos-philadelphia/.
Petróczi, Andrea and Bernd Strauss. "Understanding the Psychology behind
Performance-Enhancement by Doping." Psychology of Sport & Exercise, vol. 16, Jan 2015 Part 2, pp. 137-139. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.09.002.
Trikha, Ritika. “Is Competition among Co-Workers a Good Thing.” U.S. News, U.S. News, 1 May

Show More
Related

  • Competition

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Two best friends are torn apart. A man meticulously plots revenge on the person who got the job he was dying for. A nation is full of rage and fear because another country beat them in the race to walk on the moon. Sadly, all of these situations were caused by one thing, competition. In Alfie Kohn’s essay, “Competition Is Destructive”, he describes competition as having a “toxic effect on our relationships”(11). Although competition has many positive effects in this world, when talking specifically about relationships, whether it be between best friends, two strangers, or even entire nations, it fuels negative feelings and attitudes that transform people into monsters.

    Read More

  • Kohn's Argument Analysis: The Case Of Competition

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have a minute or two? Good, sit down and relax, because while reading this it may take a few minutes to change your opinion about competition. Competition could build character, but on the downside, it could leave someone with low self-esteem. This paper will discuss how competition is not always the best in certain situations. It will provide different types of examples and different types of scenarios where competition is harmful.

    Read More

  • What Is Kohn's Claim About The Nature Of Competition

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are people who are not as motivated, they are often referred to as the underachievers. However, once they have someone to compete with, they are more likely to become motivated to improve and excel. This is where competition serves as a healthy motivator. There is a friend who was exhausted of being constantly compared to his overachieving older brother. This caused him to start studying and working harder in order to become just as good as his brother. The situation showed how he did not need to bring down his older brother in order to be just as successful. Competition serves its purpose, when one finds themselves competing with themselves instead of their competitor. When one is competing with themselves, they are allowing themselves to grow and improve to become a better person. They do not have to compete with someone else, nor degrade others success in order to make their achievements seem exceptional.

    Read More

  • Performance Enhancing Drugs: Steroids

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jost, Kenneth. "Performance-Enhancing Drugs: An Overview." Performance Enhancing Drugs. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Sports and Drugs." CQ Researcher 14 (23 July 2004): 616-622. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Participation Trophies Analysis

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    Some argue that participation trophies are going to be the downfall of society and human life in general. That is not the case but, there are many downsides of these awards, in this essay a few of these will be brought to attention. Participation trophies do not teach children valuable lessons.

    Read More

  • Is Competition Over Emphasized In American Society

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Competition is everywhere in our daily lives. It begins from the day we are born until the day we die. Competition is just another word for challenge.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: I Believe In Competition

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    With competition, people have incentive to improve. Last fall, my father had the idea for the two of us to have a competition and see who could do more sit-ups by the end of the year. This would be part of my offseason baseball training and his normal exercise. We were both doing hundreds of sit-ups a day, and I eventually won. In the end, we were both the winners because this was very good exercise for our body, which probably would not have been done without the competition. At the end of each of my basketball lessons, my coach and I would play a short game of one versus one. At first, he would always win. I grew tired of always losing to

    Read More

  • Essay Young Athletes Should Not Give Out Participation Trophies

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    L. Hefferman’s article “ In Defense of Participation Trophies: Why they really do teach the right values?” it states “ An award is not really an award if everyone gets it.” (Today.com) In another article by Ashley Merryman called “Losing is Good For You” it says “Awards can be a powerful motivators but nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve.” (New York Times Sept. 2013) It is clear, by not giving participation awards it make the children who do get awarded feel more special than if everyone gets one. Obviously, not giving participation awards to everyone gives more of a boost of self-esteem to the people who do get

    Read More

  • Sports Influence On Culture

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is a misconception that competition is bad, if a child can experience the thrill of winning and the disappointment of losing, they will be well equipped for the reality of life. Competition provides stimulation to achieve a goal; to have determination, to overcome challenges, to understand that hard work and commitment leads to a greater chance of success. Life is full of situations where there are winners and losers; getting a job; a sports game; not getting into a desired college. People need to learn how to cope with disappointment and then to look forward to the next opportunity to try again. Competition also teaches us to dig deep and find abilities we never knew we had. The pressure to win or succeed can often inspire more imaginative thinking and inspire us to develop additional

    Read More

  • Personal Reflection Of The Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    I found that much of my free time is spent socializing with friends and competing in numerous sports and hobbies. I found that much of my daily life revolves around competition, from playing collegian level soccer to video games with friends. Competition has always interested me from a very young age when I first begin playing soccer. However, I found there is a distinction between healthy competition and unhealthy competition within my own interests. Healthy competition was doing my best in order to advance and develop a skill or process. Conversely, Unhealthy competition was a sole focus on winning and a trap I have fallen into many times. In the work world today healthy competition can be a monumental tool used to engage and motivate employees. In class we have talked about a company called Nucor that has used competition within shifts to advance technology through innovation and increasing production. I believe my interest in competition and my competitive drive when instrumented in the right environment could be a huge motivator in the future

    Read More

  • Steroid Use By Athletes Should be Banned

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    It is amazing what athletes will do to achieve higher levels of performance and to sometimes get the extra edge on the competition. Most of the time people do not realize the long-term effects that result from the decisions they make early in life. This resembles the use of steroids in a person’s life.

    Read More

  • Should Performance Enhancing Drugs Be Legalized In Professional Sports?

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    06 Jan. 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470510544.ch70/summary>. Haugen, Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011.

    Read More

  • Competition Is Not Good For People

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...etition makes it difficult to regard others as potential friends or collaborators; even if one is not a rival today, one could be tomorrow. The first step to achieving of being happy and healthy is recognizing the value of competition is built on myths. Just because forcing children to try to outdo one another is counterproductive doesn't mean they can't keep track of how they're doing. There's no problem with comparing their achievements to an objective standard or to how they did yesterday or last year. But if the people value their children's intellectual development, they need to realize that turning learning into a race simply doesn't work. By definition, not everyone can win a contest. If one child wins, another cannot. This means that each child comes to regard others as obstacles to his or her own success and this is why competition is not good for people.

    Read More

  • Experiences that Molded Me

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Survival of the fittest” is a notion that I firmly advocate. Competition brings out the best in people, and I am a very competitive person. Competitiveness whether with one's self, or with others arouses the desire to succeed. My mother has taught me that competing with yourself is even better than competing with others because you struggle to become the best person you can be, without settling for exceeding the limitations of others.

    Read More

  • Doping In Sports Essay

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    The usage of performance-enhancing drugs in sports is commonly known as Doping. Doping is banned worldwide in every sports administration and competitions and doping gives an unfair advantage to those using illegal substances, such as steroids to boost their performance. It also puts at stake the integrity of those athletes who do not use performance-enhancing drugs also known as “clean” athletes. In fact it seems that we’re now entering the era of performance-enhancing drugs within professional sports. Doping rids the true athletes of what they truly deserve and is wrong; because why should those who put in a hundred per cent of their effort, be outshone by individuals who are choosing to use substances to enhance their physical and mental abilities? Doping damages the sports industry as a whole because it has a serious physical and mental effects on the athletes, as well as damaging the idea of sportsmanship and it also breaks the trust of the fans, as they realise their idols are hypocrites.

    Read More

More about Competition: The Positive And Negative Effects Of Competition

Open Document