Competitiveness and the Similarity of Preferred Coworkers¹

Abstract

The study investigated effects of different work contexts on the individual's desire to work with a similar or dissimilar coworker. Business students ( N = 536) were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions (competitive task, skill-development task, and nonspecific task) and were asked to describe their preferred coworker for that task. Individuals were expected to prefer coworkers whom they perceived as similar in noncompetitive situations, but those whom they perceived as dissimilar in competitive situations. Further, it was hypothesized that the type of similarity emphasized (skills, personal values, and personal style) would reflect the type of anticipated interaction. As expected, participants in competitive conditions chose coworkers with lower skills and generally dissimilar values and personal style. Coworkers selected for the skill-development condition possessed similar skills and were more similar in values.

Being liked is more than having a good personality: The role of matching

“…As a result, people who share positive attributes might feel a little bit threatened by each other. Research on competitiveness supports this idea by showing that people prefer dissimilar rather than similar others when they are in competitive mind frames (Glaman, Jones, & Rozelle, 2002) and actively attempt to differentiate themselves from others when the uniqueness of their identity is threatened (Brewer, 1991; Lemaine, 1974). …”

What's the difference? Insider perspectives on the importance, content, and meaning of interpersonal differences

“…This may indicate that individuals evaluate differences in a less polarizing way when the evaluation depends on the purposes served (cf. Davis, 1981; Glaman et al , 2002). Even though our findings regarding the evaluations of differences only offered an indication, they may serve as a fruitful starting‐point for additional studies that might help to understand the often equivocal findings of research on the consequences of interpersonal differences.…”

“…For example, interpersonal differences might be negatively and positively valued depending on whether or not the differences contribute to the completion of tasks (cf. Glaman, Jones, & Rozelle, 2002).…”

Some Ethical Implications of Individual Competitiveness

“…For example, decades of small group research suggest that competition is more likely than cooperation to produce undesirable outcomes such as conflict, damaged relationships, and poor psychological health (Glaman et al 2002;Likert 1967;Tjosvold et al 2006). Highly competitive individuals struggle in terms of collaborating and getting along with, and being regarded favorably by, others (Kohn 1992, Chap.…”