Constructive competition within Social Interdependence Theory¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 4 claims (3 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article frames classroom competition through Social Interdependence Theory, which defines competition as a situation in which "individuals have similar goals and each individual's performance is impacted by the actions of others." Modern views place competition and cooperation on one continuum, and treat competition as constructive to learning "when winning is relatively unimportant, in situations in which all participants have a reasonable chance to win, and under circumstances in which there are clear, specific, and fair rules, procedures, and criteria for winning." The study designed its Kahoot activities (no grade impact, immediate feedback, leaderboard with normative comparisons) to meet this definition, and examined individual-difference predispositions toward competition alongside the situational context.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Competition must be low-stakes with winning relatively unimportant, a reasonable chance for all to win, and clear, specific, and fair rules and criteria for winning

Constraints¶

The study did not test varied competitive-activity designs; it examined one constructive implementation in a single educational psychology course without a noncompetitive control classroom

Target Learners¶

undergraduate students

Learning Goals¶

content review and comprehension monitoring in course material

Claims¶

High Competitive Higher Performance Approach Goals [+M]
Kahoot performance over a semester did not differ between high- and low-competitive undergraduates, though scores varied across time points [+M] — low-stakes competition did not disadvantage less competitive students
Students across competitive-preference levels reported enjoying the Kahoot activities consistently throughout the semester, with no detectable wear-out effect [+M]
Most motivational and self-regulation measures did not differ by competitive preference, though overall interest in educational psychology declined over the semester [+M]
The relationship between Kahoot performance and quiz scores differed by competitiveness only on the first quiz, and was not replicated later in the semester [~M]

Patterns Used¶

Social Interdependence: competition framed as negative goal interdependence, made constructive by low stakes, a fair chance for all to win and clear rules
Gamification: Kahoot quizzes with a leaderboard, immediate feedback and no grade impact

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

Daniell DiFrancesca, Dan Spencer. (2025). The effects of competitive classroom activities on undergraduates with varied levels of competitive preference. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-025-09741-8

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`constructive-competition-social-interdependence`
`title`	`Constructive competition within Social Interdependence Theory`
`description`	`The article frames classroom competition through Social Interdependence Theory, which defines competition as a situation in which "individuals have similar goals and each individual's performance is impacted by the ac...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-10-18`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `daniell-difrancesca-2025`

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