Research: We Take More Risks When We Compete Against Rivals

There is something uniquely powerful about rivalry that differentiates it from others forms of competition and relationships. Research has supported the idea that rivalry can motivate competitors to perform at higher levels, and that rivalry is sparked by experiences of similarity, repeated competition, and closely-decided contests. More recent work examines the effects of rivalry on decision-making and risk-taking. In two studies — the first looking at archival NFL data, and the second involving students in a lab — researchers found that rivalry predicted greater risk-taking among competitors. Their additional analyses suggest that rivalry increased risk-taking both by changing participants’ physiology and psychology.