TABLE 2:

The win/lose side of competition

Psychological factor	Negative	Positive
Competitive stress	Anxiety disorder, identifies self as winner or loser, no fun involved	Develops coping skills for a competitive world
Self-esteem	Failure is a consequence of their own action, feelings of incompetence	Achievement of realistic, personal goals
Motivation	Repeated failure leading to fear of failure and lack of risk-taking	Tremendous challenge that motivates excellence, internal gratification
Competitiveness	Irrationally competitive, win at all costs	Cooperative and competitiveness mixed together
Moral development	Poor sportsmanship – cheating, violence, intimidation	Positive role models, rule organization, used appropriately
Attitudes	Criticism, exercise punishment	Healthy bodies, healthy lifestyle
Responsibility	External control, no independence	Strategy and decision making skills