Winning isn't everything: Competition, achievement orientation, and intrinsic motivation

To test Harackiewicz and Sansone's (1991) process model of intrinsic motiva tion in a competitive context, we examined the effects of competition and a chievement orientation on intrinsic motivation. In Study I, participants re ceived positive or negative feedback regarding their performance in competi tive and noncompetitive conditions, and we found that achievement orientati on moderated the effects of competition. Individuals high in achievement or ientation enjoyed a word game more in competition than those low in achieve ment orientation across conditions of positive and negative feedback. We al so examined the effects of performance feedback and found positive effects of interpersonal (outcome) and intrapersonal feedback that were independent of competitive context. In Study 2, we found that achievement orientation moderated the effects of competition, even in the absence of outcome feedba ck. Mediational analyses identified competence valuation, perceived challen ge, eagerness, and positive affect as mediators of competition and feed bac k effects on intrinsic motivation. (C) 1999 Academic Press.