Performance Psychology in Action: Casebook for Working With Athletes, Performing Artists, Business Leaders, and Professionals in High-Risk Occupations by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn
Published: 2009-04-14T14:00:00+00:00

The Emotional Consequences of Competition

Competition often has an energizing effect. When competition outcome is successful, positive emotions are what make the situation memorable. Some traders enjoy the prospect of the contest, the risk of losing. Others avoid it, finding it unpleasant to have to tolerate ambiguity. Although some experience excitement and anticipation, others perceive the situation as threatening and feel anxious. Competition anxiety is actually one of the main reasons people seek sport psychology consultations (see chap. 5, this volume). The best competitors look for challenges in difficult situations, taking stock of their strengths. People who do not perform well in competitive situations tend to perceive threats; they focus on what they risk losing.

People described as “very competitive” are purported to be highly self-confident, but this is not a simple concept either (see chap. 3, this volume, for more on self-confidence). When self-confidence is high, performers faced with difficulties become more persistent (Bandura, 1997). When self-confidence is low, they are more likely to desist in the face of challenge. If success is defined as improvement, and effort is the pathway to achieving it, the performer can decide to work harder, perceiving that the solution is controllable. When success is defined as being better than others, the performer has very limited control over the outcome because it depends on how the others do. Evidence also indicates that high-ego, low-task performers have an ambivalent attitude toward working hard and putting in more effort because it is likely to be perceived as detracting from one’s demonstration of ability (Roberts et al., 1996).

What happens when an ego-oriented performer does not succeed? Her motivation may change now: Instead of trying to win to show competence, she may focus on avoiding the demonstration of lack of competence. When the market goes against a stock trader’s move, that is, when the trader bets on the market to go up and instead it goes down, she needs to recognize that she made a mistake. In many instances, however, the trader will try desperately to avoid being wrong; she keeps making erratic moves that tend to make the situation worse, that is, she loses more money. In this type of scenario, a trader’s behavior tends to be one of two types: She can hope to make a heroic move that will rescue her (i.e., make enough money to erase the previous losses) or she may engage in frenetic activity, making emotional, impulsive moves in either direction. This latter action tends to compound the problem until there is clear evidence that the situation is really negative and it becomes obvious that there is no quick or sudden fix.

In trading, success is not about making money, it is about limiting your losses (Murphy & Hirschhorn, 2001). A trader can have many more winning trades than losing ones in a day and still end up losing money. Winning the competition may well result in losing financially. So in trading, being too competitive, that is, constantly wanting to be better than the others, may be detrimental.

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