Karen Horney: Hypercompetitiveness In Sports

Karen Horney was a German psychoanalyst who was born in 1885. Her ideologies and theories regarding the personality contrasted greatly from Sigmund Freud’s and are still widely viewed today. Horney focused heavily on the idea of hypercompetitiveness and it’s effects on people. She first developed this idea when she came to America in the 1930’s. Horney defines hypercompetitiveness as “a sweeping desire to compete and win in order to keep or heighten beliefs that one is worthy.” (Engler, 2014). Horney believes that those strive towards competition amongst others are battling with a diminished sense of self worth. Upon coming to America, Horney noticed this familiar theme among people in the culture. She found that competition and the need to rise above others was a societal norm. Since the 1930’s, the …show more content…
In areas including looks surrounding beauty, school, and even one’s profession, the need to compete and rise above others is present. Though hypercompetitiveness runs through many different areas of American society, it is most prominent in the culture of sports. In the world of sports, being competitive and winning at all costs lies at the root of every players core values. Athletes are trained and coached to believe that competition is a positive thing that makes for better playing and results. Referring to an athlete as competitive is a positive thing in sports culture. The positivity that surrounds the theme of competition equates it with success, thus perpetuating the rivaling and challenging nature. According to Horney, the athletes with a diminishing sense of self worth would engage in hypercompetitiveness. It is important to note, however, that Horney believed that athletes with positive feelings of self worth can still engage in competition for pleasure in it’s challenging nature but not to prove themselves to others (“Hypercompetitiveness and Sports”,