How people think about competition and winning
Overview
Adults separated competition as a way to test ability from a more absolute belief that winning matters no matter what.
Roughly 63% agreed at least somewhat that they enjoy competition because it helps them discover their abilities. About 60% disagreed at least somewhat that winning is the most important thing no matter what.
Crosstab view
63% agreed that competition helps them discover ability, while 23% agreed that winning matters no matter what.
I enjoy competition as it allows me to discover my abilities.
I enjoy competition as it allows me to discover my abilities.
- Somewhat Agree
- 28.5%
- Agree
- 21.8%
- Neither Agree nor Disagree
- 21.1%
The most important thing is winning, no matter what.
- Strongly Disagree
- 26.7%
- Disagree
- 20.5%
- Neither Agree nor Disagree
- 16.7%
MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032
View source dataCompetition as self-discovery drew agreement
Roughly 29% somewhat agreed, 22% agreed, and 13% strongly agreed that they enjoy competition because it helps them discover their abilities.
Combined, about 63% agreed at least somewhat with the statement. Roughly 16% disagreed at least somewhat, and 21% neither agreed nor disagreed.
Stacked breakdown
60% disagreed at least somewhat that winning is the most important thing no matter what.
The most important thing is winning, no matter what.
- Strongly Disagree
- 26.7%
- Disagree
- 20.5%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 13.0%
- Neither Agree nor Disagree
- 16.7%
- Somewhat Agree
- 12.0%
- Agree
- 5.5%
- Strongly Agree
- 5.6%
MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032
View source dataWinning at any cost drew disagreement
About 27% strongly disagreed and 21% disagreed that the most important thing is winning, no matter what. Another 13% somewhat disagreed.
The agreement side was smaller. Roughly 23% agreed at least somewhat, while 17% neither agreed nor disagreed.
The paired items point to a boundary
The two results are not opposites. Adults were open to competition when it was framed as learning about ability, but they were less accepting of a statement that made winning the overriding goal.
Methodology
Full methodology- Mode
- Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population
- United States adults who completed both waves of the survey
- Field dates
- 2023-04-19 → 2023-04-27
- Base (unweighted)
- 1,000
- Margin of error
- +/- 3.6%
- Module
- MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032
- Sponsor
- Verasight
- Weight variable
- weight
- Weighting targets
- age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status
Sources
[2]- 01Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: I enjoy competition as it allows me to discover my abilities.Anchors the topic in a positive competition framing.reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032
- 02Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: The most important thing is winning, no matter what.Contrasts competition as self-discovery with winning at any cost.reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032
Citation
MPSA 2023 Omnibus Survey #2023-032, fielded April 19-27, 2023, N=1,000 United States adults who completed both waves of the survey, +/- 3.6%.
https://reports.verasight.io/reports/mpsa-2023-omnibus-survey-2023-032#please-rate-the-extent-to-which-you-agree-or-disagree-with-the-following-statement-i-enjoy-competition-as-it-allows-me-to-discover-my-abilities