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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement 3
1. Introduction 4
2. Literature Review 5
2.1 Problem Statement
2.2 Key Issues
2.3 Significance

3. Research Topic 8

3.1 Problem Statement

3.2 Research Question

3.3 Research Hypothesis

4. Variable Identification 9

5. Research Methodology and Techniques 12

5.1 Deconstruction

5.2 Rationale behind key variables

6. Development of Instruments 13
7. Pilot Testing 14
8. Data Collection and Analysis 16
9. Summary 27
9.1 Key Observation
9.2 Brief Recommendation
10. Limitation and Learning 28
References 30

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express our warm gratitude and thank everyone who has helped or been part of this research.
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our seniors and friends in regard for their suggestions to develop
this report.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Amar KJR Nayak for his guidance and valuable suggestions.
Also, for assigning this challenging as well as an informative research project which helped us to learn Social
Research Methods effectively.

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the problem

The topic that we have chosen for our research is "Competition vs. Cooperation". As students, we are thriving in
a competitive as well as a cooperative environment, so this topic will help us explore the scenario from various
perspectives and come to a consensus.

To study the topic, we have assumed various scenarios (academics, family, job, and sports) in which a person can
perform differently. We believe, we can get sufficient insights from people regarding their behavior in these
scenarios and come to an understanding of their performance in these situations.

1.2 Complexities

Different people have different perceptions of different situations.

The participant’s perception regarding academics, family, job, and sports are subject to change.

1.3 Significance:

At the end of this study, we can get a better understanding of the impact of a person’s behavior on their
performance.

We can also understand if candidates would like to cooperate or compete in various environments to perform
better.

These days’ men and women compete for the same job position. Therefore, this research will help us to know
whether all the individuals can perform at the same rate irrespective of their gender and age.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

1) Arwen M Marker, BA and Amanda E Staiano, PhD| “Outcomes of Cooperation Versus Competition
in Social Exergaming” | NCBI | 02/01/2015 |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4532894/

Cooperative exergaming promotes increases in self-efficiency, intrinsic motivation, pro-social behaviors, and
continued gameplay. By promoting the adherence to sustained play, cooperative play may lead to weight loss
specifically in overweight/obese adolescents. In contrast, competitive exergaming may promote short-term
physiological arousal leading to increases in energy expenditure and effort, but also aggression, in acute bouts.

2) “Competitive Classrooms Vs Cooperative Classrooms: Pros and Cons” | Room 241 | 11/01/2013 |
https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/competitive-classrooms-vs-cooperative-
classrooms-pros-and-cons/

The cooperative classroom

Students are usually divided into small groups and encouraged to work together to maximize their own learning,
as well as the others’ in the group.

Pros:
• Children learn important cooperative social skills that they will require later in their working lives.
• Students can actually learn better when they also help teach other students.
• Children who might be left behind in a more competitive environment can be brought up to speed by their
peers.

Cons:
• It can be hard for a teacher to accurately evaluate the progress of individual students.
• Students may not be motivated to excel if they know their classmates will do whatever work is needed on
a project.
• Students can become frustrated and demotivated when their individual efforts go unrecognized.
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The Competitive Classroom
Sometimes called individualistic learning, the competitive classroom is a more traditional form of learning.
Students study alone and complete their own assignments while trying to learn the presented subject matter. Tests
and quizzes measure each student’s progress, and letter grades or percentages are given for both assignments and
tests.

Pros:
• Children face the real-world challenge of competition.
• Students are encouraged to do their very best.
• Independent thinking and efforts are encouraged and rewarded.
• Children can still work in teams, but compete against other teams—it can be a great way to enliven the
classroom environment.
Cons:
• Some students may become frustrated and even apathetic if they fall too far behind the rest of their
classmates.
• Achieving high grades and teacher approval may come to be seen as more important than actual learning.
• Getting along with others is de-emphasized.

3) Tiffany Rowe | “When Winning Doesn’t Mean Coming in First” | Skills you need | 05/06/2016 |
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/competition-vs-cooperation.html

The joy that comes from a competitive victory can be cruel and unproductive, especially when it works
against the goal of others. While friendly competition can be enjoyable and we can build a stronger,
wealthier, more contended, and all around a much happier society by cooperating with one another at
school, at work, and at home.

4) “Competition Versus Cooperation” | Renegade Inc. | 01/08/2018|

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4532894/

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An economy based on cooperation will not ensure equal outcomes but it will narrow the gap between rich
and poor, and ultimately eradicate poverty. They collaborate successfully on ventures that create real
wealth and add considerably to the diversity of human experience. In a better-balanced economy, the price
of failure, or of narrowly losing out in the competition to bring a new product or service to the market,
would not be so great. An economy comprising of many smaller units of production and increasingly few
mega-corporates would be a safer place for more people to do business. The urge to compete is reinforced
by a fear of failure, which can mean exclusion, poverty and lifelong insecurity.

5) Perry W. Buffington, Ph.D | “COMPETITION VS. COOPERATION

” | Charles Warner | 04/17/2015 | http://www.charleswarner.us/articles/competit.htm

Competition, or the constant feeling that you have to work against something, has unhealthy physical side
effects. Cooperation is a valuable commodity and works best when it is freely given and indirectly
encouraged. It promotes goodwill toward men and women, and is a gift that is always appropriate. And
there's no better time to be cooperative.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH TOPIC
3.1 Research Objective

As an individual, we always come across this dilemma in life so as to be competitive or to be cooperative in that
particular situation.

This research is to get insight into how a demographic of people will react in various scenarios according to their
judgment. This examination will help us with job profiling. A recruiter can identify a candidate who is more
appropriate for a highly competitive sales job or a highly cooperative customer service job.

3.2 Research Question

Does a person adopt to competitive or a cooperative mindset in subjective to different situations?

3.3 Research Hypothesis:

H1: There is a significant impact of both personal and external factors on an individual’s mindset.

H2: There is a correlation between age and external factors (academics, family, job, sports).

H3: There is a correlation between gender and external factors (academics, family, job, sports).

H4: There is a correlation between current status and external factors (academics, family, job, sports).

3.4 Key Variables:

• Age Group
• Gender
• Current Status
• Academics
• Family
• Job
• Sports

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 CHAPTER 4

VARIABLE IDENTIFICATION
4.1 Key Variables:

• Age Group
• Gender
• Current Status
• Academics
• Family
• Job
• Sports

4.2 Decomposition of Variables

Perception

Personal External

Current
Age Gender Academics Family Job Sports
Status

Deconstruction is the process of breaking down a case into various factors and further breaking down the factors
into variables which in turn results into the questionnaire. Performance of a person is considered to be the problem
statement. The key variables identified are:

▪ Personal factors: These refer to the personal factors which differ from individuals like age, gender and
current status.
▪ External factors: These factors change according to the situation and influences individuals differently
like academics, family, job, and sports.

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4.3 Rationale Behind Key Variables

Research has led to the selection of variables based on the following rationale:

▪ Age: The performance - cooperative or competitive of a person varies with age.

▪ Gender: Gender might have an impact on the performance.
▪ Current Status: The behaviour of a college student is very different than behaviour of an employee working
in a corporate office.
▪ Academics: Influence of a person on their peers and friends in a learning environment can determine their
behaviour accurately.
▪ Family: The competition starts from home itself
▪ Job: A major part of an individual’s time is spent at workplace, so it is responses here can give good
insights
▪ Sports: An individual’s choice of sports and decisions taken while playing the sport can help determine
their psych.

4.4 Instrument for Data Collection:

1) Survey Methodology
a. Primary Research
b. Sampling
2) Structured Questionnaire
a. Online questionnaire (Google sheet)
b. Convenience Sampling (Non-Probabilistic)

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4.5 Research Framework

Problem Formulation

Develop a model

Identify approaches and develop a hypothesis

Collect existing data

Generate a specific hypothesis

Hypothesis Testing

Research and findings

Analysis of results

Results and recommendations

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 CHAPTER 5

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND TECHNIQUES

The research methodology that we have selected for this project is survey methodology. In this research, we have
followed non-probabilistic convenience sampling because the questionnaire was open to everyone. We decided
to use questionnaire because it is the most convenient source to obtain multiple responses from various people
and it helps us gauge how different people react to similar circumstances. Questionnaires are very convenient and
there are no time lags.

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 CHAPTER 6

DEVELOPMENT OF INSTRUMENT
The study was carried out using a structured questionnaire based on an online survey methodology. The
questionnaire has a total 22 questions. A five-point Likert scale was used for 18 out of 22 questions. The
information regarding personal details and the reaction of an individual to various situations was taken from the
questionnaire.

5- Most competitive

4- Competitive

3- Neutral

2- Cooperative

1- Most cooperative

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 CHAPTER 7

PILOT TESTING
We had rolled out an experimental questionnaire to a selected group of people before our final one to find out the
shortcomings in our questionnaire. Based on their feedback and by further analyzation on SPSS, we realized that
our approach towards the research was inappropriate. So we discarded the previous data and incorporated the
shortcomings.

7.1 Modifications

• ‘Do not want to reveal’ option was removed from the question on Gender so that a correlation could be
found out between Gender and external factors.
• There was not an equal distance between the age groups across the range. Earlier, ’24-26’, ’27-30’ options
were provided which shows the uneven distribution.
• Only ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ options were provided for some of the questions. After analysis, we realized the
limitations which affected the accuracy of our research. Thus, we decided to use Likert’s scale for the
same.

7.2 Coding

In SPSS, we used the following coding-

• Gender(V1): Male-2, Female-1

• Age Group(V2): ’19-22’-2, ’23-26’-4, ’27-30’-3, ’31 and above’-1
• Current Status: Undergrad-1, Postgrad-2, Job-3
• Question 1: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5
• Question 2: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5
• Question 3: Submissive-1, Neutral-2, Assertive-3, Dominating-4, Stubborn-5
• Question 4: Team-1, Both-2, Individual-3
• Question 5: Always-5, Usually-4, Sometimes-3, Rarely-2, Never-1
• Question 6: Always-5, Usually-4, Sometimes-3, Rarely-2, Never-1
• Question 7: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5
• Question 8: Entire Batch-1, Section Mates-2, With Friends-3, None-4
• Question 9: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5
• Question 10: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5

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 • Question 11: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5
• Question 12: Yes-1, No-2
• Question 13: Yes-1, No-2
• Question 14: Always-5, Usually-4, Sometimes-3, Rarely-2, Never-1
• Question 15: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5
• Question 16: Numbers assigned to each option will depend on the previous response.
• Question 17: Always-1, Usually-2, Sometimes-3, Rarely-4, Never-5

7.3 Data Collection Processes

Firstly, we prepared the questionnaire and then decided to use Google Sheets as the medium through which we
could connect to maximum number of respondents. The link to the questionnaire was mostly shared with our peer
group as well as with our seniors. Most of our group members have work experience, so we also shared it with
our ex-colleagues. The link to the questionnaire was also shared on various social media platforms for in order to
get higher number of responses.

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 CHAPTER 8

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

6.1 Sampling
The data set is collected through self-administered questionnaire, and convenient sampling method. The
respondents consist of students from under-graduation, post-graduation and working professionals. It was
distributed through email as well as social media.
6.1.1 Sampling Frame

The questionnaire was distributed all over India for responses

6.1.2 Sampling Size

There have been 102 responses. All the responses have been collected through the online questionnaire. All
the responses have been properly scrutinized.

6.2 Data Collection

Primary data collection has been done through self-administered structured questionnaire that was distribution
through online medium.

6.2.1 Validity and Reliability of Data

The reliability and internal consistency of the data collected through in the present study was examined by
Cronbach’s Alpha test of reliability. It is most commonly used to check the reliability of the data. Cronbach’s
alpha reliability coefficient normally ranges between 0 and 1. If the value of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient
closer to 1.0, it means that the greater the internal consistency of the items in the scale.
Cronbach’s Alpha value for the given data set was found to be 0.802. This shows that the data collected is
acceptable.

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6.3 Data Analysis
Various data analysis techniques have been used to derive a suitable consensus from the data collected from
the online questionnaire. Techniques like Regression, Correlation, cluster analysis were used to do the same.

6.4 Univariate Analysis (Choose Appropriate From Here Onwards)

The different demographic characteristics such as age, gender, current status were analyzed using univariate
analysis. The total number of respondents were 102 and were used for data analysis. The different variables
have been shown in the subsequent sections.
6.4.1 Age Group Distribution

The age distribution shows that the maximum number of respondents were belonging to the age of 23-26 years
followed by 27-30 years & 19-22 years.

6.4.2 Gender

Three categories were given in this section. There were total of 102 responses out of which 5838 % were
males and 41.2% were females

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6.4.3 Current Status
This section has been put in to determine the current working status of the individual.

6.4.4 Demographic Profile and Characteristics

There were many different questions given to determine the impact of different variables.This is the
descriptive statistic of the available data set.

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1. In a group discussion, if you have made your own entries would you encourge others to put up a point?

2. If a placement process is going on, would you share your views of a topic with your batch-mates

3. Describe your body language in a group discussion

4. Which type of sports would you chose?

5. Considering equal chances for both, would you prefer personal glory over team success?

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6. Would you commit a foul which will hamper individual record for your team's glory?

7. In case you know some of the important questions which are likely to come in the examination, would share the
questions and solutions with your batch-mates?

8. You have the best notes in your batch, whom would you share them with ?

9. A day prior to exams, would you help your batch-mates to understand a particular topic?
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10. Under normal conditions, would you help your batch-mates to understand a particular topic?

11. Suppose you help your friend for a particular exam and the person scores more than you, would you help him/her
again?

12. Would you be alright if your spouse earns more than you do?

13. Would you share equal responsibilities of the household with your spouse?

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14. Have you ever competed with your sibling?

15. If you have completed your task before time, would you still help your team mate without any acknowledgement?

16. If you have completed your task before time, would you still help your team mate with proper acknowledgement?

17. If you are working on a group assignment, Will you give equal importance to everyone's ideas?

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 18. Have you ever won any competition?

6.5 Analysis of two variables

Bivariate analysis is a form of quantitative analysis, which involves the analysis of two variables for
determining the empirical relationship between the same. It is helpful in testing the hypothesis of the study.In
this case we are going to check the relation between the personal variables and the overall external factor.
1. Correlation between gender and the overall external factor

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 There is a negative correlation between gender and external factors. Gender does not pay any role in the
performance of an individual.
2. Correlation between age and the overall external factor

There is a negative correlation between gender and external factors which implies that as age increases an
individual tends to be more cooperative.
3. Correlation between current status and the overall external factor

There is a negative correlation between current status and external factors. This means that if a person is
in job he/she is more cooperative than in as a student.
4. Correlation between overall personal factors and external factors

We can see there is a negative correlation between personal and external factors which means that if there
is an increase in the weightage in the personal factors then the individual tends to incorporate a cooperative
mindset.
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6.6 Multivariate Analysis
Multivariate analysis is essentially the statistical process of simultaneously analyzing multiple independent
variables with multiple dependent variables using matrix algebra.

Various Multivariate Analysis techniques commonly used are:

o Multiple Regression Analysis
o Factor Analysis (Principal Component Analysis)
o Cluster Analysis
o Discriminant Analysis
o Conjoint Analysis

In this analysis we shall be using two of the techniques Multiple Regression Analysis and Cluster Analysis.

a. Multiple Regression Analysis: In this we shall consider the question number 18 of the
questionnaire as the dependant variable. The question is related to the performance of an
individual in any competition. The two independent variables are the personal and external
factors.
The results of the regression analysis are as follows:

We can see the following correlation results:

1. There is a positive correlation between performance and personal factors
2. As seen before, there is a negative correlation between personal and external factors

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 Here we can see that the R,R square and the adjusted R square values have taken positive
values, which means that there is a linear relationship between the variables
The R square value is a positive value which indicates that there is a variability between
the different parameters.
The adjusted R square value is also greater than 0, which implies that there is linearity
between the variables.

b. Cluster Analysis: In this we shall consider the overall weightage of all the factors used in the
research. We shall try to find that whether individuals takes up a competitive or a cooperative
stance subject to different scenarios.

These shall be two clusters:

i. Competitive cluster
ii. Cooperative cluster

The assignment of cluster to either shall depend on the centre point of each cluster.

The cluster with the higher value of centre shall be the competetive cluster whereas the
cluster with the lower value of centre shall be the cooperative cluster.
So, there are higher number of values in the competetive cluster. So, we can assume that people
generally tend to take a competetive approach subjected to different scenarios.

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 CHAPTER 9

SUMMARY
9.1 Key Observations

The world is divided between competitiveness and cooperativeness even though the major chunk of the industries
around the world work in a cooperative environment, but for growth as an entity, competitive environment is also
essential. When it comes down to an individual level, there is a higher chance that people act with a competitive
mindset. Basing on our study, we tried to see how individuals respond to a given scenario. Basing on these
responses, we could establish a connect between their personal criteria and their response to five different
scenarios. From these responses, a weighted average was found out which showed the competitive mindset or a
cooperative mindset of an individual.

9.2 Brief Recommendations

A new variable could have been incorporated in the study i.e. family income which shall also determine the
mindset of an individual. A person would tend to perform better if he has lesser income so as to increase his/her
standard of living.

It would have been better if the age group would have started from 16 years of age. This is because this is the age
when an individual experiences the first taste of real time competition. The trends could have given interesting
insights of the way the youngest of the lots behave to a scenario

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 CHAPTER 10

LIMITATIONS AND LEARNINGS

10.1 Assumptions

We have various assumptions in our research-

• For the research, the sample selected represents the true population.
• It is also assumed that people would react in the same way as they have answered in the questionnaire.
• We also assume that people have answered according to their present experience and not their past
experience.

10.2 Limitations

In every research, there are limitations. The limitations of this research are as follows-

• We were not able to tap into the age category of ‘31 and above’ as only 10 responses out of 102 were from
that category. We could have recorded a more balanced data if we were able to approach them.
• The research only focused on the people with the age of 19 or above, so we only took a part of the
population.
• The answers provided by the respondents need not be true as people tend to behave differently from
situation to situation.
• We could have included the family income as a variable for our research but were unable to do so since
we had already started recording the responses.

10.3 Learnings

The learnings of the research are mentioned below-

• Out of all the variables, we found that the age of an individual has a higher impact on their performance
than the other variables such as gender and current status.
• The age group of the individual and performance are negatively related to each other. We found that, as
an individual gets older he/she becomes less competitive and more cooperative.
• It was found that gender is not a determining factor of a competitive or a cooperative mindset of an
individual.
• It was also found that current status is not a determining factor of a competitive or a cooperative mindset
of an individual.
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 • Working with unknown peers, we learnt that we have to be cooperative in order to carry out any team
projects.
• At a young age, the rate of growth is more than that at the old age as people have a more competitive
approach.

10.4 Improvisation of the Study

The improvisation of the study are as follows-

• The research could benefit from a higher number of responses.

• By using other variables such as family income, the results obtained could have been more reasonable.

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• Kohn, A. "How to succeed without even vying." (September, 1986) Psychology Today, 20.22-28.

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