No Contest: The Case Against Competition

Contrary to accepted wisdom, competition is not basic to human nature; it poisons our relationships and holds us back from doing our best. Kohn draws on research across evolutionary biology and anthropology to demonstrate that human survival has always relied on mutual aid rather than perpetual struggle.

American classrooms and workplaces routinely stifle excellence by pitting individuals against their peers. Structured contests foster crippling anxiety rather than genuine self-esteem.

Collaborative effort enhances productivity while repairing social bonds. In this new edition, Alfie Kohn argues that the race to win turns all of us into losers.

• Evidence-Based Research: An extensive meta-analysis by David and Roger Johnson examining 122 studies over five decades evaluates whether head-to-head rivalry or cooperative effort yields higher individual achievement.
• Social Psychology: Muzafer Sherif's landmark Robbers Cave experiment demonstrates how dividing boys into competing camp factions sparks immediate hostility that only superordinate goals can defuse.
• Business Ethics: Robert Helmreich's surveys of scientists, airline pilots, and executives trace how personal competitiveness undermines professional performance and team coordination.
• Cooperative Learning: Practical classroom frameworks such as Elliot Aronson's jigsaw method demonstrate how shared group inquiry can replace competitive grading systems.