The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Competition

Abstract This volume reviews and organizes the literature on the psychology of competition and brings together leading researchers studying competition across the field of psychology. The volume begins by addressing the question, “What is the Psychology of Competition?” and distinguishes the psychological perspective from that of other disciplines, such as economics or business. The volume then presents a range of psychological approaches to the study of competition. The first section on Biological Approaches includes chapters that review findings on competition from the subfields of psychobiology, neuroscience, psycho-endocrinology, and evolutionary psychology and address the biological basis for sex differences in competition. The section on Motivational and Emotional Approaches includes chapters that variously examine the opposing motivational forces in competition and describe how competitive motivation is influenced by goals, competitive arousal, and envy. The section on Cognitive and Decision Making Approaches showcases relevant findings from the literatures on judgment and decision making, social dilemmas, cognitive biases, and risk-taking. The section on Social-Personality and Organizational Approaches includes chapters on trait competitiveness, gender differences in competition, rivalry, status competition, and social comparison. Finally, the volume concludes with a section containing chapters in which the psychological study competition is focused on specific contexts, such as in sports, education, and culture.