Does competition enhance or inhibit motor performance: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted on the relative impact of cooperative, compet itive, and individualistic efforts on motor skills performance. Competition was divided into 3 groups: zero sum, appropriate, and unclear. The motor s kills tasks were divided into means-interdependent and means-independent ta sks. The dependent variables were achievement-performance, interpersonal at traction, social support, and self-esteem. A total of 64 studies met the cr iteria for inclusion. Effects sizes were computed, and confidence intervals were used to determine their significance. A fail-safe sample size was com puted to determine how many additional studies were needed to change the si gnificance of the results. Cooperation resulted in higher achievement for m eans-interdependent tasks in zero-sum competition, unclear competition, and individualistic efforts, and it promoted higher achievement for means-inde pendent tasks for unclear competition and individualistic efforts. For all comparisons, cooperation resulted in greater interpersonal attraction, soci al support, and self-esteem.