by Athena Brady

Created on: September 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 21, 2009

Competitiveness is evident in every part of our lives, from keeping up with the Joneses to achieving the promotion we desire at work. Where does it come from and where do we learn it from and more importantly is it worth the effort we put in ? When we are born we rely on our parent's for everything. A baby cannot survive without the assistance of it's parents. They need food, warmth, shelter, to survive the perils of the world they are born into. After a while the baby learns to be more independent of its parents gradually he or she finds their feet literally and begins to crawl and then to walk. In the beginning our parents are our world in every real sense of the world. They have taught us most of what we know and we look up to them. We learn to imitate them, the little girl washes the dishes like mummy does, the boy may pretend to read the paper like his father. In essence, we are as children, in many ways, miniature versions of our parents. When we are worried about what we should do in a social situation we look to our parents for guidance and direction. As we grow older we observe our parents more and more to gain understanding of the more difficult social interactions. We notice that if we do or say something pleasing to our parents we have a reward in the form of their acceptance, praise, or we may receive a treat, present or finances. We begin to take on the opinions and judgments of our parents as our own.Including any stereotypical views they may have on certain members of society. It is not normally until we are teenagers that we begin to question their judgements, assumptions and beliefs.

Doing well at sports or in exams may get us social acceptance and recognition from our peers and maybe financial reward from our parents. We pick up our cues from a variety of sources some which are obvious and others less subtle i.e. verbal communication, observation, body language. It is through this process we learn the concept of Competitiveness and it can have many functions.

(a) It helps us to construct our identity.

(b) It can help us feel better about ourselves.

(c) It can improve our social standing.

(d) It can provide us with financial security.

(e) It can assist us in realising our hopes/dreams.

(f) It can motivate us.

These a a few of the things that encompass competitiveness but what is the personal cost we pay and what are the consequences of our actions upon others ? For example, if we strive for the best car and home to surpass our peers can we

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