Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to assess sex differences in scores on word search puzzles in which participants are given information intended to incite competitive emotions. Forty participants—18 men and 22 women—were recruited from the Lindenwood Participant Pool. Participants were randomly assigned into four groups designed to prompt two different kinds of competitive emotions: one which put the participants against the other sex, and one which put them against all other participants. It was hypothesized that men would do better than women under all competitive conditions, and that the overall scores of participants would increase in all experimental conditions, regardless of sex. Results did not significantly support the hypotheses. There was a significant result that giving the participants time result information increased performance. Future research could be conducted to test whether time constraints have an effect on academic performance.

Recommended Citation

Maxwell, G. Ben (2011) "Under Pressure: The Effects of Competition on Performance," Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 13, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/psych_journals/vol1/iss13/2