{"id":22853,"date":"2013-11-15T14:42:44","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T21:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?page_id=22853"},"modified":"2019-07-18T12:10:40","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T19:10:40","slug":"competitiveness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/competitiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Competitiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RacersCompetitiveness<\/strong> is a measure of a person\u2019s desire to surpass others. A highly competitive person is more likely to see a situation as a competition, even when there is no explicit winner or loser. For example, a teen may compare their social media popularity to their friends\u2019 rankings, even though there is no explicit reward for having the most followers. The individual\u2019s rivals may not even realize they are competing.<\/p>\n

During a game or contest, a competitive person may go to great lengths to be victorious. Competitiveness can motivate a person to work harder than they would have alone. However, an individual who feels they must win at all costs may burn themselves out or alienate others. When competitiveness causes emotional distress or disrupts someone\u2019s daily life, that person may wish to get professional help<\/a>.<\/p>\n

COMPETITIVENESS IN BIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY<\/h2>\n

Competition by itself is neither good nor bad. In biology, competition between organisms is a natural result of evolution<\/a>. All organisms must compete for a limited number of resources, such as food, shelter, or mating partners. Humans\u2019 tendency to compete may be a natural outgrowth of this biological competition.<\/p>\n

Some kinds of competition can indirectly affect one\u2019s ability to survive and have offspring. For example, a singer who competes to win a million dollars can then afford to eat nutritious food, buy a home big enough to house lots of kids, and so on.<\/p>\n

However, the psychological trait of competitiveness often has nothing to do with survival, although the tendency to compete might be a natural outgrowth of biological competition. Healthy levels of competition can help improve self-esteem<\/a> and increase enjoyment of life. It can also motivate<\/a> people to work harder toward their goals.<\/p>\n

COMPETITIVENESS AND PERSONALITY<\/h2>\n

Competitiveness is often described as a personality trait<\/a>. However, it is much less stable across the life span than traits such as neuroticism, extroversion, and novelty-seeking.<\/p>\n

It is true that some people tend to be more competitive than others. However, certain situations can also boost competitiveness in people. People who are raised in cultures<\/a> that value competition are also more likely to be competitive. People are more likely to be competitive when:<\/p>\n