Amicable Rivalry: Competitive Relationships That Increase Motivation Without Compromising Ethicality

Authors:

Abstract: Does rivalry always lead to unethical behavior? We distinguish positively valenced rivals that are characterized by respect and admiration from negatively valenced rivals that are characterized by animosity and hostility. We show that although both kinds of rivals increased motivation relative to non-rival competitors (Study 1a), only hostile rivals significantly increased unethical behavior (vs. non-rival competitors), whereas amicable rivals did not (Studies 1b, 2, and 3). Differences in interpersonal affiliation motivation contribute to this effect (Study 2). Whereas both kinds of rivals are perceived as more important (vs. non-rival competitors), greater importance increases one’s willingness to behave unethically towards them only when there is a low desire to affiliate with the rival. Lastly, we introduced an intervention that asked participants to think about how hostile rivals help them improve and show that it reduced the unethicality associated with hostile rivals (Study 3).

Track: MORAL

Keywords: rivalry; trust; competition; motivation; unethical behavior; interpersonal attraction