Chapter 6 - Competition and Cooperation

Competition definition according to Coakley

a social process that occurs when rewards are given to people for how their performance compares with the performances of others during the same task or when participating in the same event

Cooperation definition according to Coakley

a social process through which performance is evaluated and rewarded in terms of the collective achievement of a group of people working together to reach a particular goal

Competition via reward

rewards are given to people based on their performance relative to other competitors

ex: Trophies given to the championship-winning team

Competition via social evaluation

comparison of a person’s performance is made with some standard in the presence of at least one other person who can evaluate the comparison process

ex: Being better than your friend when they were originally better than you

Is competition or cooperation better for complex tasks that require problem solving?

cooperation is better

Is competition good or bad?

competition is a neutral process

the environment determines its effects to a great degree

Appropriate competition

• voluntary

• importance of winning is to too high in which it causes stress

• everyone must have a reasonable chance to win

• rules are clear and fair

• relative progress can be monitored

Decompetition

occurs when opponents see each other as rivals, with winning as the ultimate goal

The Competition Process

1. The Objective Competitive Situation

2. The Subjective Competitive Situation

3. Response

4. Consequences

The Objective Competitive Situation

The Competition Process;

situation in which performance is compared with some standard of excellence in the presence of at least one other person who is aware of the comparison

The Subjective Competitive Situation

The Competition Process;

how the person perceives, accepts, and appraises the objective competitive situation

Response

The Competition Process;

whether a person approaches or avoids an objective competitive situation

Consequences

The Competition Process;

when the athlete’s response is compared with a standard of competition

postive = success

negative = failure

Prisoner’s Dilemna

competitors draw cooperators into competition

Sherif and Sherif (1969) summer camp studies:

competition can be reduced through cooperative efforts to achieve superordinate goals

Enhancing cooperation (via cooperative games)

• maximize participation

• maximize opportunities to learn sport and movement skills

• do not keep score

• give positive feedbvack

• provide opportunities for youngsters to play different positions

Guidelines for Balancing Competition and Cooperation

• Blend - competition and cooperation when teaching/coaching physical skills

• Individualize - instruction to meet each person’s needs

• Structure - games for children include both competitive and cooperative elements

• Use - When competition leads to rivalry, use superordinate goals to bring the groups together