When Trying to Win: Competition and Intrinsic Motivation
Abstract
Males and females solved interesting puzzles in the presence of a same-sex confederate who posed as a second subject doing the same activity. Half the subjects were instructed to compete against each other (i.e., to try to solve the puzzles faster than the other person) while half were simply instructed to work as quickly as they could so as to finish in the allotted time. The results showed a significant main effect in which competition decreased intrinsic motivation. 7his was particularly true for females.
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Unlike the motivational and attributional approaches, the behavioral theories have not been generalized to conceptually similar issues such as how other external events such as deadlines, competition, and choice affect intrinsic motivation.
“unlike the motivational and attributional approaches, the behavioral theories have not been generalized to conceptually similar issues such as how other external events such as deadlines (Amabile et al., 1976), competition (Deci, Betley, et ah, 1981; Reeve & Deci, 1996), and choice (Zuckerman et al., 1978) affect intrinsic motivation.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Deci, Betley, et ah, 1981
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References 6 · Cited by 354
- Authors
- Deci, E. L., Betley, G., Kahle, J., Abrams, L., & Porac, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Rochester (US)
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1981-03
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 79-83
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2075474869
- Cited by
- 354
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 6.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Keywords
- competition, intrinsic motivation, gender differences, confederates, puzzle solving, achievement motivation
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