There are many reasons why women compete in different environments.

Evolutionary
psychologists tend to suggest that competition is based on natural selection and evolution.
According to them, women need to protect themselves, their bodies, and thus their wombs, from
physical harm. However, on the flip side, feminist psychologists suggest that this aggression and
competition comes from a mix between natural aggression and competition, and an
internalization of the patriarchal society in which they were raised. More research suggests that
women do not actually compete with each other. Rather, it is a veiled competition with oneself
and one's self-image. In other words, they see other women as merely a better, smarter, more
enhanced version of themselves, rather than a separate entity. 1

Women and men respond completely differently to all aspects of competitive environments,
especially when the outcomes matter to the participants.2 Both males and females viewed
competition in a specific task as "more masculine," even when examining a task in isolation
compared to the competition in the same task.3 Not only are they less eager to compete,4 but
when faced with a competitive situation, females are less likely to take risks, feel less trust
towards those around them, and are more likely to display characteristics such and internalizing
behaviors. This often becomes obvious at high-pressure times of competition, such as around the
college admissions process. 5

1
Gordon, E. V. (2015, November 1). Why Women Compete With Each Other. New York Times.
Retrieved March 5, 2019.
2
Morin, L. (2013). Do Men and Women Respond Differently to Competition? Evidence from a Major
Education Reform (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Ottawa.
3
Dreber, A., Von Essen, E., & Ranehill, E. (2011). Outrunning the gender gap—boys and girls compete
equally. Experimental Economics, 14(4), 567-582.
4
Dreber, A., Von Essen, E., & Ranehill, E. (2011). Outrunning the gender gap—boys and girls compete
equally. Experimental Economics, 14(4), 567-582.
5
Lu, Y., Shi, X., & Zhong, S. (2018). Competitive experience and gender difference in risk preference,
trust preference and academic performance: Evidence from Gaokao in China. Journal of Comparative
Economics, 46(4), 1388-1410. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2018.05.002
If a person in the classroom, who is considered a competitor, is viewed as a threat, it can actually
hinder the performance of the female, especially in memory and learning tasks. This may
partially be because competition in academic settings may spark severe anxiety or fear in certain
students. This can affect the encoding and solidification of new memories into the brain.6 This,
generally, strengthens the argument that competitive classrooms hinder the learning of females.
Specifically, if competition hinders performance on encoding information, as well as basic recall
and memory tasks, females, then, are likely to perform worse on examinations that require
working memory and recall functions as well as long term memory functions.

It was discovered that men value competition, and are encouraged by it. Competition may
actually push men to engage in personal development behaviors that they perceive as an
improvement.7 Females, however, tend to benefit more from high-quality peers, rather than
competition.8 Competition, especially in academic settings, tends to produce significantly more
stress, and significantly reduce happiness, especially in young women. According to the Stress in
America Survey (APA, 2012), women were significantly more likely to report experiencing
extreme stress.9 It also tends to lower the perceived self-worth of many women who look to
others for validation. 10

6
DiMenichi BC and Tricomi E (2015) The power of competition: effects of social motivation on
attention, sustained physical effort, and memory. Front. Psychol. 6:1282. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01282

7
DiMenichi BC and Tricomi E (2015) The power of competition: effects of social motivation on
attention, sustained physical effort, and memory. Front. Psychol. 6:1282. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01282
8
Dreber, A., Von Essen, E., & Ranehill, E. (2011). Outrunning the gender gap—boys and girls compete
equally. Experimental Economics, 14(4), 567-582.
9
Lu, Y., Shi, X., & Zhong, S. (2018). Competitive experience and gender difference in risk preference,
trust preference and academic performance: Evidence from Gaokao in China. Journal of Comparative
Economics, 46(4), 1388-1410. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2018.05.002
10
Shpancer, N. (2014, January 26). Feminine Foes: New Science Explores Female Competition. Retrieved
from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/201401/feminine-foes-new-science-
explores-female-competition
Succeeding in a competitive learning environment, for some, is much more rewarding than that
of an individual setting, but tends to become distracting to students., and causes them to crumble
11
under the distraction and pressure of succeeding.

Competitive learning environments, however, have shown major benefits in countries where it is
taught from a young age. However, in the US Educational system, many students are introduced
to a collaborative learning environment from a young age, and when they get to high school or
college they experience a high level of competition, often for the first time. This novel
environment then hinders the learning of these students. Often, this adjustment is unprepared and
difficult to adjust to.12 One study even suggested that the female graduation rate lowered
significantly in environments of increased competition, while the same was not true for males. 13

In terms of personality, competition, and confidence, so long as it is considered "healthy" is

often encouraged in males, but is discouraged in females. Since females are taught that these
traits are undesirable, natural competition tends to be suppressed, even jokingly, or "harmlessly"
around other women. This suppression causes otherwise healthy and natural behaviors into
unhealthy habits, including hidden envy, which can manifest itself into aggression and hostility,
a desire for the "other" to fail, coupled with a fear of success, as well as insecurity, guilt, and
shame. They may even feel guilt or shame for their own success due to over-empathizing and
over-identifying with the other's insecurities and emotions, even seeing their success as hurtful or
harmful. On the contrary, they may feel uncertain about their own strength because they mistrust

11
DiMenichi BC and Tricomi E (2015) The power of competition: effects of social motivation on
attention, sustained physical effort, and memory. Front. Psychol. 6:1282. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01282
12
DiMenichi BC and Tricomi E (2015) The power of competition: effects of social motivation on
attention, sustained physical effort, and memory. Front. Psychol. 6:1282. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01282
13
Morin, L. (2013). Do Men and Women Respond Differently to Competition? Evidence from a Major
Education Reform (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Ottawa.
the power of the "other" woman. 14 This mixture of self-promotion and degradation of others
tends to manifest itself in indirect aggression towards other women. 15

14
Margolies, L. (2018). Competition Among Women: Myth and Reality. Psych Central. Retrieved on
March 4, 2019, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/competition-among-women-myth-and-reality/
15
Vaillancourt, T. (2013). Do human females use indirect aggression as an intrasexual competition
strategy? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368(1631).
doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0080