The Effects of Cooperation and Competition on Motivation

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Research Article Summary

A research article on The Effects of Cooperation and Competition on Intrinsic Motivation (Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004) examined the effects of cooperation and competition on participants in a sports setting and performed multiple studies to evaluate the relationship between the two. They found that both cooperation and competition had a positive influence on intrinsic motivation and performance through four experiments that tested the effects of pure cooperation, pure competition, and intergroup competition on intrinsic motivation and performance (Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004).

Tauer & Harackiewicz (2004) defined pure cooperation as “a group of individuals working together to attain a common goal” (p. 849). They also define pure competition as “one person attempting to outperform another.” Intrinsic motivation is defined as “the desire to take part in an activity for its own sake” ((Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004, p. 850). It is leads to the person enjoying the task and “developing long-lasting interest in the activity” (Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004, p. 850). Theorist believe that if individuals hold interdependent goals, then cooperation should enhance performance (Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004). In a meta-analysis of 64 studies, they found that cooperation facilitated performance more than individual competition ((Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004). On the other hand, according to Tauer & Harackiewicz (2004), “the effect of competition relative to cooperation depended on two factors: the means interdependence of a task and the way in which competition is structured” (p. 849). Competition that involves a group effort tends to accomplish tasks more efficiently than competition performed independently. The authors s...

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.... It is consistent with the assumption that negative feedback would negatively impact performance. The studies also caused participants to “approach the activity with more interpersonal enthusiasm, competition led individuals to value competence and perceive greater challenge, and intergroup competition led participants to do both” (Tauer & Harackiewicz, 2004, p. 860). The authors were able to replicate the feedback results in all the four experiments. In conclusion, Tauer and Harackiewicz’s (2004) research supports the hypothesis that interpersonal enthusiasm enhanced intergroup competition, as well as positive feedback would led to task enjoyment.

References

Tauer, J. M., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2004). The Effects Of Cooperation And

Competition On Intrinsic Motivation And Performance.. Journal of Personality

and Social Psychology, 86(6), 849-861.

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