The Role of Competitiveness at Social Tasks: Can Indirect Cues Enhance Performance?

Recent research has shown that competitiveness is related to performance. However, gaps remain in the literature on the effects of competitiveness on task performance across different performance settings. A review of relevant literature from sport, social, and personality psychology suggested that performance in several contexts—individual, coactive, and conjunctive task demands—would be affected both by trait interpersonal competitiveness and by competitiveness manipulated through subliminal priming. Both factors (task demands and competitiveness) were manipulated in a 2 × 3 experimental design and individual task effort was assessed. Results from the current investigation showed that such priming influenced effort at a coactive persistence task. Results also partially replicated past research on group motivation gains (Hertel, Kerr, & Messé, 1999; Köhler, 1926, 1927). Implications for group and individual performance in social, athletic, and work domains are discussed.