Competition can be defined as healthy (OK) or unhealthy (not OK). This paper examines unhealthy competition, resulting from the incorporation of key developmental decisions which suggest that self-worth and the worth of others are dependent on winning and losing. Unhealthy competition includes win-lose competition at ages two to three years, right-wrong and better-worse competitions at ages three to six years, and top-bottom competition at ages seven to twelve years. Sentence types used as diagnostic tools in assessing the four kinds of unhealthy competition are also discussed.
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