Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze how varying levels of closeness to both partners and competitors would affect the motivation of individuals in an intergroup competition. Undergraduate students participated by first identifying another participant they felt close to. They were then randomly assigned to either work with, work against, or be completely separated from this person. A use-generating competition was used to measure performance. No significant difference was detected in performance across conditions. However, closeness to partner, closeness to opponent, and the interaction between the two were all found to significantly predict performance. These findings support the idea that closeness to other members of an intergroup competition predicts performance. Future research may wish to replicate this study with a larger sample size, and more even distribution of participants across condition.

Keywords

friendship, closeness, performance, motivation, intergroup competition

Document Type

Thesis

Year of Completion

2017

Major

Psychology

Advisor

Dr. Nancy Frye

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