In The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Competition, Stephen M. Garcia, Avishalom Tor, and Andrew J. Elliot review and organize the literature on the psychology of competition and bring together leading researchers studying competition across the field of psychology. The first section on Biological Approaches reviews findings on competition from the subfields of psychobiology, neuroscience, psycho-endocrinology, and evolutionary psychology. The section on Motivational and Emotional Approaches examines the opposing motivational forces in competition and describes how competitive motivation is influenced by goals, competitive arousal, and envy. Cognitive and Decision-Making Approaches showcases relevant findings from the literature on judgment and decision making, social dilemmas, cognitive biases, and risk-taking. The section on Social-Personality and Organizational Approaches includes chapters on trait competitiveness, gender differences in competition, rivalry, status competition, and social comparison. The volume concludes with a section in which the psychological study of competition is focused on specific contexts, such as sports, education, and culture. The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Competition is a crucial interdisciplinary investigation into the variety of perspectives and approaches to the psychology of competition, facilitating new research and integration in the field.
Stephen M. Garcia is Professor in the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis. He was previously Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, where he maintains an affiliation with the Research Center for Group Dynamics. Professor Garcia is an expert on the psychology of competition and a scholar in the field of judgment and decision making. His work appears in leading journals across the behavioral sciences. Professor Garcia serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, and he is an elected fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology.
Avishalom Tor is Professor of Law and Director of the Notre Dame Program on Law and Market Behavior (ND LAMB) at Notre Dame Law School. His behavioral-legal research employs theoretical, empirical, and experimental methods in a broad range of studies that revolve around the three major themes of competition and cooperation among individuals and firms; behavioral policy-making ("nudging"); and the methodology of behavioral law and economics. Professor Tor's interdisciplinary work has been published in a wide range of legal, psychological, decision making, and public policy journals, as well in numerous edited volumes and collections.
Andrew J. Elliot is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rochester. He has held year-long Visiting Professor positions at University of Munich (2003-2004), University of Cambridge (2008-2009), University of Oxford (2013-2014), and Teachers College and New York University (2022-2023). He conducts research on achievement motivation and has published approximately 300 scholarly papers. He has been Associate Editor at numerous journals (e.g.,
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Psychological Science), and is currently Editor of
Advances in Motivation Science. Dr. Elliot has served as President of the Society for the Science of Motivation.
