Copyright © The British Psychological Society

Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

123

The
British
Psychological
Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice (2009), 82, 123–136
q 2009 The British Psychological Society
Society

www.bpsjournals.co.uk

The dark side of competition: How competitive

behaviour and striving to avoid inferiority are
linked to depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm

Paul Gilbert*, Kirsten McEwan, Rebecca Bellew, Alison Mills

and Corinne Gale
The Mental Health Research Unit, Derbyshire Mental Health Trust, University of
Derby, Derby, UK

This study was guided by the social rank theory of depression and aimed to explore the
relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm with striving to avoid
inferiority, feelings of shame and styles of attachment. Participants diagnosed with
depression (n ¼ 62) completed a series of questionnaires measuring striving to avoid
inferiority, fears of missing out, being overlooked and active rejection, attachment,
social rank and psychopathologies. Striving to avoid inferiority was significantly linked to
social rank variables and anxious attachment. Mediator analyses revealed that the
relationship between striving to avoid inferiority and depression was mediated by the
social rank variable of external shame, and also anxious attachment. These findings
suggest that elevated competitive behaviour can have a ’dark side’. When people feel
insecure in their social environments, it can focus them on a hierarchical view of
themselves and others, with a fear of rejection if they feel they have become too inferior
or subordinate. This may increase vulnerability to depression, anxiety and stress.

Evolutionary psychology suggests that humans are orientated to pursue certain

biosocial goals such as developing early attachments, belonging to groups, gaining
status, and finding sexual partners (Buss, 2003; Gilbert, 1989). Bowlby (1969, 1973,
1980) outlined the attachment system that underpins seeking of close relationships
which offer protection and care. The experience of early attachment relationships
affects brain maturation (Gerhardt, 2004; Siegel, 2001), internal models of self and
other, and relating styles of individuals (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2004, 2007). There is
extensive literature linking early attachment experiences to the formation of internal
working models of self and others and psychopathology (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2004,
2007). Various authors suggest three or four types of attachment style: Secure, anxious,
avoidant (linked to dismissive or fearful) and disorganised (Liotti, 2000, 2002;

* Correspondence should be addressed to Professor Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, Mental Health Research Unit, Kingsway Hospital,
Derby, DE22 3LZ, UK (e-mail: p.gilbert@derby.ac.uk).

DOI:10.1348/147608308X379806
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

124 P. Gilbert et al.

Mikulincer & Shaver, 2004, 2007). These attachment styles are linked to experiences of
self, affect regulation, and abilities to rely on others as soothing agents (Mikulincer &
Shaver, 2004, 2007). Cognitive therapists have also linked early attachment experiences
to various schemas of self and others, core beliefs and dysfunctional attitudes (Guidano
& Liotti, 1983; Safran & Segal, 1990). Beyond attachment to close kin or intimates, the
need to have a sense of belonging and acceptance by others is also a basic need
(Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Experiencing others as accepting, supportive and caring
makes the world relatively safe, while seeing others as potentially rejecting or hostile to
the self makes the world unsafe and threatening, and activates a range of potential
defences, such as anxiety and low mood (Gilbert, 1989, 2005a,b).
With maturation these biosocial goals come to be regulated by internal models of
how one thinks one ‘exists’ in the minds of others – do we create positive feelings and
impressions in the minds of others such that they will like, desire, and care about us?
Alternatively, do we create less positive or more negative feelings in the minds of others
such that they have little interest in us or may want to reject us? (Gilbert, 1989, 1995,
2005a, b). One of the consequences of insecure attachment is that individuals feel their
social place is not secure or easily won and they have to work hard to feel that others
like/accept them. The link between attachment history and subsequent competitive
behaviour has been outlined by Gilbert (2005a, 2007) and explored in adolescent
populations by Gilbert and Irons (2005, in press).
Relationships are key sources of physiological regulation, the formation of self-
identities, and our social goals (Cozolino, 2007). However, both within sibling kinship
relationships (Gilbert & Gelsma, 1999) and in groups (Baumesiter & Leary, 1995) there
can be heightened competition for social places and acceptance. This is because the
audience makes choices; some individuals will be preferred (as friends, employees and
lovers) over others because they are seen to have certain desirable qualities. Thus
various social arenas can be competitive, where the competition is to win a valued place
in the hearts and minds of others and individuals are aware that others are making
judgements about the self in comparison to others.
The World Heath Organisation has reported that depression constitutes one of the
most common mental health problems, is a major personal, social and economic burden,
and is increasing along with other mental health problems (Fombonne, 1999; Murray &
Lopex, 1996). Self-harm, especially in younger cohorts, is also increasing (Dimmock,
Grieve, & Place, 2008; Fortune & Hawton, 2005). It has been suggested that rising rates
of psychopathology in Western societies might be linked to increases in competitive
behaviour (Gilbert, 1989; James, 1998; Lasch, 1979). Recent research suggests that rates
of mental ill-health and national levels of fear are higher in competitive rather than caring
societies (Arrindell et al., 2003, 2004). Such social arenas can activate a rank-focused,
social mentality related to heightened awareness of winners and losers, social
comparison, concerns with inferiority, and what others think about the self.
Leary (1995) and Gilbert (1989, 2005a, 2007) suggested that the more insecure and
uncertain people feel in their abilities to create positive impressions in the minds of
others, the more competitive their orientation to social relationships is likely to be.
Processing systems become focused around three forms of social hierarchical and
ranked ways of thinking and feeling, these include: social comparison, concerns with
what others think about the self, and the need for assertive or submissive behaviour.
Research has shown that self-beliefs of inferiority, believing that others look down on the
self, and behaving submissively are highly associated with depression in clinical and non-
clinical populations (Allan & Gilbert, 1997; Gilbert & Allan, 1998; Gilbert et al., 2002).
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

The dark side of competition 125

Depressed people feel they are losing the competitions of social life for support,
acceptance and care and commonly see this as due to personal undesirable qualities
(e.g. being boring, a failure, stupid, incompetent, weak, or unattractive).
Gilbert (1989, 2005a, b) and Dykman (1998) suggested that people who feel
insecure and unsafe in their social relationships can feel under pressure to strive to avoid
unwanted inferiority associated with being overlooked or rejected. In contrast people
who feel secure in their social relationships do not fear inferiority or mistakes, in part
because they see others as accepting and helpful rather than rejecting or shaming.
To explore this Gilbert et al. (2007) developed a measure of striving to avoid inferiority.
There are two factors to this scale. The first is insecure striving where people believe
that they must strive to compete for their social place and avoid mistakes and inferiority.
The second factor is secure non-striving where people believe that whether they
succeed or fail others still accept and value them. In students, insecure striving was
significantly associated with various fears of rejection, feeling inferior, submissive
behaviour, need for validation and depression. Secure non-striving was negatively
associated with these variables (Gilbert et al., 2007).
This study aimed to extend this research by exploring how insecure striving and
feeling low rank in comparison to others is linked to attachment insecurities
and depression, anxiety and stress in a clinically depressed population. Given that
depression and feeling inferior to others can also be linked to feelings of disappointment
and anger with the self and to self-harm (Sansone et al., 1998), we sought to find out
how striving to avoid inferiority and fear of rejection were also linked to self-harm.
The theoretical guiding paradigm of this research is that of the social rank theory
(Gilbert, 1992, 2007). This suggests that the experience of feeling placed in unwanted
inferior positions and being marginalised can increase negative affect and reduce
positive affect (Gilbert, 1992, 2007). Moreover, when people are attuned to the
competitive dynamics of their relationships they can be caught in a competitive and
hierarchical way of seeing relationships with severe consequences of marginalisation,
rejection or even bullying for those who fall too low in the hierarchy. We therefore
hypothesised that depression, anxiety and stress would be associated with these rank
concerns, feeling inferior and vulnerable to rejection.

Method
Participants
Sixty two patients (inpatients n ¼ 17; outpatients n ¼ 45) diagnosed with depression
(26 male, 36 female) completed seven self-report measures. Participants had received
an ICD diagnosis of depression by the treating psychiatrist and were in treatment
for depression. The age range was 20 – 66 years (mean ¼ 44.32, SD ¼ 12.73). A t test
comparison between inpatients and outpatients revealed a significant difference for
depression, with inpatients showing higher levels of depression (mean ¼ 28.82,
SD ¼ 10.86) than outpatients (mean ¼ 21.06, SD ¼ 12.20).

Measures
Striving to avoid inferiority scale (SAIS): Part one
Part one of the SAIS is a 31 item scale designed by Gilbert et al. (2007) to measure a)
beliefs about striving to compete to avoid inferiority (e.g. ‘If I don’t strive to achieve I’ll
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

126 P. Gilbert et al.

be seen as inferior to other people’) and b) feelings of acceptance by others whether

one succeeds or fails and not having to compete (e.g. ‘Others will accept me even if
I fail’). The striving element we refer to as ‘insecure striving’, while the second element
we refer to as ‘secure non-striving’. Instructions ask participants to rate statements
describing how they think and feel about the need to strive and compete in life. Each
item is answered using a five-point Likert scale of 0 ¼ never to 4 ¼ always.

Striving to avoid inferiority scale: Part two

The second part of the SAIS focused on the reasons for people feeling under pressure to
compete and avoid inferiority. We hypothesised three possible reasons: fear of losing
out (not advancing in life, missing opportunities, and falling behind); being overlooked,
which we regarded as a form of passive exclusion; and active rejection, involving being
shamed and pushed away. Participants respond to statements on a 10-point scale
ranging from ‘don’t agree’ to ‘completely agree’.
Parts one and two of the SAIS have shown good reliability with Cronbach’s alphas of
.84 insecure striving; .69 secure non-striving; .84 losing out; .80 overlooked and .79
rejection (Gilbert et al., 2007).

Social comparison scale

This scale was developed by Allan and Gilbert (1995) to measure self-perceptions
of social rank and relative social standing. This scale uses a semantic differential
methodology and consists of 11 bipolar constructs. Participants make a global
comparison of themselves in relation to other people and rate themselves on a 10-point
scale. The items cover judgements concerned with rank, attractiveness and how well
the person thinks they ‘fit in’ with others in society. Low scores indicate feelings of
inferiority and general low rank self-perceptions. The social comparison scale has good
reliability, with Cronbach’s alphas of between .88 and .96 with clinical populations and
between .90 and .91 with student populations (Allan & Gilbert, 1995, 1997).

Submissive behaviour scale

Derived from the work of Buss and Craik (1986), the Submissive Behaviour Scale was
developed by Gilbert and Allan (1994) and refined by Allan and Gilbert (1997). It
consists of 16 examples of submissive behaviour (e.g. ‘I agree that I am wrong even
though I know I’m not’) which people rate as a behavioural frequency (from 0 ¼ Never
to 4 ¼ Always). The scale has good reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha of .89, and four-
month test – retest reliability of r ¼ .84, p , .001 with a student population (Gilbert
et al., 1996).

The other as shamer scale (OAS)

Shame can have an external focus (thinking that others look down on, and negatively
evaluate the self) and an internal (self-evaluative) focus. The OAS was devised to measure
‘external shame’ (Allan et al., 1994; Goss et al., 1994). Participants are asked rate the 18
items on a five-point scale according to the frequency with which they make certain
evaluations about how others judge them (0 ¼ never to 4 ¼ almost always). Items
include ‘I feel other people look down on me’, ‘other people see me as somehow
defective as a person’ and ‘other people always remember my mistakes’. In the original
study the scale showed good reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of .92 (Goss et al., 1994).
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

The dark side of competition 127

Experiences in close relationships scale

The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale designed by Brennan et al. (1998), is a
36-item scale designed to measure attachment-related anxiety (e.g. ‘I worry about being
abandoned’), and avoidance (e.g. ‘I get uncomfortable when a romantic partner wants
to be very close’). Participants are asked to think about their close relationships, without
focusing on a specific partner, and rate the extent to which each item describes their
feelings using a seven-point scale ranging from 1 ¼ not at all to 7 ¼ very much. The
subscales show good reliability with Cronbach’s alphas of .91 for anxiety and .94 for
avoidance (Brennan et al., 1998).

Depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS21)

This is a shortened version of the DASS42 (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). It consists of
21 items; three subscales measure levels of depression (e.g. ‘I couldn’t seem to
experience any positive feelings at all’), anxiety (e.g. ‘I was aware of dryness of my
mouth’) and stress (e.g. ‘I found it hard to wind down’). Participants are asked to rate
how much each statement applied to them over the past week, on a four-point scale
(0 ¼ Did not apply to me at all, 3 ¼ Applied to me very much, or most of the time). The
DASS21 subscales have good reliability, with Cronbach’s alphas of .94 for depression, .87
for anxiety and .91 for stress (Antony et al., 1998).

Self-harm inventory (SHI)

The SHI was developed by Sansone et al. (1998). It is a 22-item inventory measuring
responder’s history of self-harm behaviours. Items include questions regarding
overdoses, suicide, cutting and hitting oneself. Responders mark ‘yes’ (scored as 1) or
‘no’ (scored as 0) to indicate whether they have ever attempted each behaviour, and if
so, how many times (although the data on ‘how many times’ was often missing so we
have not included it in the analyses). This scale begins with the question ‘Have you ever
intentionally or on purpose : : : ’ followed by 22 items relating to self-destructive
behaviour such as ‘Driven recklessly on purpose?’ or ‘Abused prescription medication?’
The final question asks participants to disclose whether they have ‘ever engaged in any
other self-destructive behaviours not asked about in this inventory?’ Although according
to Sansone et al. (1998) alpha coefficients were not applicable to this scale, in this study
the scale was found to have good reliability. The Cronbach’s alpha for this study is
shown in Table 1.

Results
Analysis was conducted using SPSS version 11.5. The data were screened for normality
of the distributions and for outliers. Skewness values ranged from 2 0.05 to 2 0.71 and
Kurtosis values from 2 0.14 to 2 1.25.

Descriptives
The means, standard deviations and Cronbach’s alphas are presented in Table 1.
As anticipated, means and standard deviations for the striving to avoid inferiority scale
were higher than in a non-clinical sample (Gilbert et al., 2007). The means and standard
deviations for depression and stress are similar to previous studies, however, the mean
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, alphas and correlations for all variables

128 P. Gilbert et al.

Secure Being
Insecure non- Losing over Active Social Submissive Others as Anxious Avoidant Self-harm
striving striving out looked rejection comparison behaviour shamers relationship relationship total Stress Anxiety Depression

Secure 2.62**
non-striving
Losing out .73** 2.31*
Being over looked .71** 2.52** .75**
Active rejection .75** 2.60** .63** .79**
Social comparison 2.51** .49** 2.23 2.33** 2.46**
Submissive behaviour .52** 2.32* .34** .38** .51** 2.54**
Others as shamers .70** 2.53** .38** .37** .61** 2.65** .69**
Anxious relationship .56** 2.30* .44** .41** .48** 2.53** .55** .68**
Anxious relationship .56** 2.30* .44** .41** .48** 2.53** .55** .68**
Self-harm total .35** 2.29* .06 .19 .31* 2.36** .37** .39** .47** .23
Stress .71** 2.59** .45** .50** .58** 2.38** .47** .69** .61** .25 .35**
Anxiety .52** 2.36** .37** .36** .44** 2.28* .46** .54** .45** .23 .27* .69**
Depression .52** 2.39** .32* .29* .33* 2.45** .42** .54** .56** .23 .30* .67** .67**
Means 45.31 22.74 18.87 26.56 22.06 40.08 35.61 41.51 80.63 68.31 6.05 23.97 18.30 26.66
SD 15.85 9.30 7.00 10.50 11.00 15.86 11.13 14.65 22.63 25.53 4.11 11.24 10.47 11.68
Alphas 0.94 0.87 0.92 0.96 0.96 0.91 0.89 0.95 0.90 0.95 0.82 0.89 0.84 0.93

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level; ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level.
Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

The dark side of competition 129

for anxiety is higher than reported in a previous study that looked at the DASS and mood
disorders (e.g. major depression, dysthymia; Brown et al., 1997).

Correlation analysis
The Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients are presented in Table 1.

SAIS
The insecure striving and secure non-striving subscales were negatively correlated
(r ¼ 2.62). Insecure striving was highly related to fear of losing out, being overlooked,
and active rejection. In contrast, secure non-striving was negatively associated with
these concerns.

SAIS and social rank variables

Striving to avoid inferiority was highly correlated with external shame (OAS). It was also
moderately associated with feeling inferior in comparison to others and submissive
behaviour. In contrast, secure non-striving was associated with favourable social
comparisons and was negatively correlated with external shame and submissive
behaviour.
In regard to the various social fears, fear of losing out was moderately correlated with
shame and submissive behaviour. Being overlooked had significant correlations with
social comparison, shame and submissive behaviour. Active rejection was significantly
correlated with social comparison, submissive behaviour and in particular shame.
These data therefore tell a consistent story that insecure striving is linked to feeling
inferior to others and fears of active and passive rejection.

SAIS and the experience of close relationships

Anxious attachment style was significantly associated with insecure striving and the
fears of missing out, being overlooked and active rejection. Avoidant attachment style
was also associated with insecure striving, and fear of being overlooked.

SAIS, attachment and rank in relation to depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm
Insecure striving was positively related to self-harm, anxiety, depression and in particular
stress (r ¼ .71). Interestingly, self-harm was only associated with fear of active rejection
but not missing out or being overlooked. Secure non-striving was negatively associated
with self-harm, stress, anxiety and depression. As in other studies, the social rank related
aspects of negative social comparison, submissive behaviour and beliefs that others look
down on the self were all associated with stress, anxiety, depression and self-harm.
In regard to attachment, only anxious attachment was associated with these
psychopathology variables.

Multiple regression
Insecure striving
We conducted a standard multiple regression to explore how different aspects of social
rank (social comparison, external shame, submissive behaviour) and attachment related
to insecure striving. The regression equation accounted for 56% of the variance in the
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

130 P. Gilbert et al.

prediction of insecure striving (F(4, 48) ¼ 15.44; p , .001). External shame significantly
contributed to the variance suggesting that feeling insecure and vulnerable to put-down
‘in the minds’ of others may partly drive striving and competitive behaviour (Table 2).

Psychopathology
In a second set of standard multiple regressions, we explored the relative contribution of
insecure striving, aspects of social rank and anxious attachment to the prediction of
depression, anxiety and stress. In regard to depression, the regression equation accounted
for 39% of the variance in the prediction of depression (F(3, 50) ¼ 10.85; p , .001). In this
model anxious attachment was the only significant predictor of depression.
In regard to anxiety, the regression equation accounted for 42% of the variance in the
prediction of anxiety (F(3, 50) ¼ 11.83; p , .001). None of the variables were significant
predictors, however, external shame approached significance (b ¼ 0.36, p ¼ .050).
In regard to stress, the regression equation accounted for 62% of the variance in
the prediction of stress (F(3,50) ¼ 27.70; p , .001). Insecure striving and anxious
attachment significantly contributed to the prediction of stress, insecure striving yielded
the highest beta.
The data from the multiple regressions indicates that feeling that others look down
on the self (external shame) is a main predictor of insecure striving. Moreover, insecure
striving and anxious attachment are predictive of stress.

Mediator analyses
We were interested in how social rank and attachment might mediate the relationship
between competitive striving and depression. Indeed, in a previous study exploring
these variables in students, we found that social comparison moderated the relationship
between striving and depression (Gilbert et al., 2007).
Mediator analyses were conducted using multiple regressions, following the four-
step analysis recommended by Baron and Kenny (1986).

Striving, external shame and depression

Step 1 found that the predictor variable striving was a significant predictor of the
dependent variable (depression) (F(1,62) ¼ 11.94, p , .001, R2 ¼ .16). Step 2 found that
striving was a significant predictor of the hypothesised mediator (external shame)
(F(1,59) ¼ 57.47, p , .001; R2 ¼ .49). Step 3 found that external shame was a significant
predictor of depression when controlling for striving (F(2, 57) ¼ 14.35, p , .001,
R2 ¼ .33), however, striving became non-significant but approached significance
( p ¼ .067). Step 4 analysis of the standardised beta weights indicates that external
shame fully mediates the relationship between striving and depression (Sobel test
statistic ¼ 2.19, p ¼ .028). This suggests that whilst striving directly predicts
depression, depression is especially high if, in addition, individuals feel they exist
negatively and in inferior rank positions in the minds of others.

Striving, anxious attachment and depression

Step 1 found that the predictor variable striving was a significant predictor of the
dependent variable (depression) (F(1, 61) ¼ 11.94, p , .001, R2 ¼ .16). Step 2 found that
striving was a significant predictor of the hypothesised mediator (anxious attachment
(F(1, 56) ¼ 25.44, p , .001, R2 ¼ .31). Step 3 found that anxious attachment was a
Table 2. Multiple regressions

Insecure striving Depression Anxiety Stress

SE B b P SE B b P SE B b P SE B b P

Social comparison .14 2 0.12 .307 – – – – – – – – –

External shame .18 0.56 .001** .15 0.12 .516 .13 0.36 .050 .19 0.25 .082
Submissive behaviour .19 0.02 .887 – – – – – – – – –
Anxious attachment .10 0.14 .296 .08 0.33 .032* .07 0.10 .508 .06 0.24 .046*
Insecure striving – – – .12 0.27 .109 .10 0.26 .111 .09 0.40 .003**
Copyright © The British Psychological Society

The dark side of competition

Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

131
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

132 P. Gilbert et al.

significant predictor of depression when controlling for striving (F(2, 52) ¼ 10.59,
p , .001, R2 ¼ .28), however, striving becomes non-significant. Step 4 analysis of the
standardised beta weights indicates that anxious attachment fully mediates the
relationship between striving and depression (Sobel test statistic ¼ 2.48, p ¼ .013). This
suggests that although striving directly predicts depression, if the individual has an
anxious attachment style, they are likely to strive more and be more depressed.

Discussion
This study explored a number of key biopsychosocial processes relating to rank-focused
competitive beliefs/behaviours and attachment, in relation to depression, anxiety, stress,
and self-harm. In this depressed group, insecure striving was highly related to fears of losing
out, being overlooked, and rejected. Further, it was highly associated with a view that
others negatively evaluate the self (external shame). Insecure striving was also associated
with feeling inferior, submissive behaviour and anxious attachment. In contrast, secure
non-striving showed a significant negative relationship with these variables. Thus, all these
variables are probably linked to a basic fear of rejection (Leary, 2001).
The multiple regressions showed that external shame was a key predictor of
insecure striving. A mediator analysis showed external shame to be a mediator between
striving and depression. In a second multiple regression, anxious attachment was a key
predictor of depression and a mediator analysis revealed anxious attachment mediated
the relationship between insecure striving and depression. An additional multiple
regression revealed that anxious attachment and insecure striving were predictors of
stress. The findings of this study are in line with earlier studies, which found that striving
to avoid inferiority is a significant predictor of psychopathologies, especially where
individuals perceived themselves to have low social rank (Gilbert et al., 2007). Bellew
et al. (2006) found (as with this study, and the Gilbert et al., 2007 study), that insecure
striving was associated with feeling inferior and (a different measure of) depression,
whilst secure non-striving had a significant, negative relationship with these variables.
In addition, they found that insecure striving was associated with dysfunctional eating
attitudes and appearance anxiety. The basic story is therefore, that feeling inferior,
believing that others do not particularly value the self but rather look down on the self,
and striving to avoid inferiority are linked to depression, anxiety and stress in a
depressed population. It may be the constant pressure to find acceptance in the eyes of
others and self, that emerges from insecure attachment, which creates the conditions for
becoming exhausted, defeated (can’t make it) and depressed (Gilbert, 2007).
There are a number of limitations to this study. First, this is a fairly small and
heterogeneous group of patients. Although the relationships between the variables are
in the same direction as in a non-clinical population (Gilbert et al., 2007), the
correlations are higher in this clinical population. For example, when we compared
correlations between clinical and non-clinical populations, many of the correlations
were significantly higher in the clinical population according to r compare calculations.
However, one cannot say if this is a result of the depression or more accentuated
trait-like concerns about self in relationship to others. Finally, although a number of
authors have suggested that insecure attachment creates feelings of social insecurity,
which then invigorates peoples’ competitive concerns, this study cannot address this
causal model.
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

The dark side of competition 133

Nonetheless, our data are in line with growing concerns about the potential harmful
impact of elevated competitiveness in Western societies, which has intensified within
the last few decades (Arrindell et al., 2003; Kasser, 2002). Elevated competitiveness can
be associated with insecure early life experiences and social ranking systems (Gilbert,
2005a) but there are also social and cultural aspects that include the rise of consumerism
and expectations, job insecurity, work targets, and media focused attention on status
models (James, 1998). There has been recent concern that Western children are being
affected by elevated competitiveness, and its effects on depression and anxiety
(www.goodchildhood.org; The children’s society, (2006)).
Our data cannot address these issues but it does add to a growing literature that
suggests that, either as cause or consequence, feeling inferior to others, thinking that
others look down on the self, competing and striving to avoid inferiority, fearing being
overlooked and rejected are powerfully linked to depression, anxiety, stress and self-
harm. Societies that stress the value of competitive behaviour should be mindful of its
dark side – especially for a species like ours who have evolved social needs for safeness via
acceptance and belonging (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Bowlby, 1969) and where well-
being comes from feeling connected, included, accepted and valued by others.
These results have implications for psychotherapy, especially the way in which
‘thinking others look down on the self’ mediates the link between striving and
depression. It suggests that psychotherapies could pay more attention to the
experiences, beliefs and social skills for engaging others. There is actually a type of
cognitive therapy called Cognitive Behavioural Analysis Systems of Psychotherapy
which focuses precisely on these (McCullough, 2000). A study on the effectiveness of
this therapy was a major contributor to the good effect size of CBT for depression in the
recent NICE recommendations (Keller et al., 2000). Sadly this has not been followed up
with training developments. Gilbert and Procter (2006) found that working on an affect
regulation system that underpins feelings of safeness and compassion significantly
reduced external shame, depression, anxiety and self-criticism in a day hospital
population. Thus our understanding of psychopathology and psychotherapy is
becoming more socially contextualized with specific focus on the development of
affiliative affect.

Conclusions
In regard to possible therapeutic implications, Compassion Focused Therapy
(Gilbert, 2005, 2007) suggests that one way to help people with these difficulties is
to focus on their abilities to feel safe and connected to others and develop
capacities for self-soothing/reassuring. Insecure striving is a threat-driven behaviour,
therefore as individuals begin to feel safe(r) then threat-driven behaviours such as
insecure striving may be reduced along with the inferior social-rank perceptions that
accompany them.

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the staff at Derbyshire Psychiatric inpatient and day patient hospitals. This
work was undertaken by the Mental Health Research Unit who received a proportion of its
funding from the Department of Health. The views expressed in this publication are those of the
authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health.
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

134 P. Gilbert et al.

References
Allan, S., & Gilbert, P. (1995). A social comparison scale: Psychometric properties and relationship
to psychopathology. Personlity and Individual Differences, 19, 293–299.
Allan, S., & Gilbert, P. (1997). Submissive behaviour and psychopathology. British Journal of
Clinical Psychology, 36, 467–488.
Allan, S., Gilbert, P., & Goss, K. (1994). An exploration of shame measures II: Psychopathology.
Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 719–722.
Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric
properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the depression anxiety and stress scales in
clinical groups and a community sample. Journal of Psychological Assessment, 10, 176–181.
Arrindell, W. A., Eisemann, M., Oei, T. P. S., Caballo, V. E., Sanavio, E., Sica, C., et al. (2004). Phobic
anxiety in 11 nations: Part II Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture predict national-level
variations. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 627–643.
Arrindell, W. A., Steptoe, A., & Wardle, J. (2003). Higher levels of depression in masculine than in
feminine nations. Behaviour and Research Therapy, 41, 809–817.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social
psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments
as a fundamental human motivation. Psychology Bulletin, 117, 497–529.
Bellew, R., Gilbert, P., Mills, A., McEwan, K., & Gale, C. (2006). Eating attitudes and striving to
avoid inferiority. Eating Disorders, 14, 313–322.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment: Attachment and loss, Vol. 1. London: Hogarth Press.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Separation, anxiety and anger: Attachment and loss, Vol. 2. London:
Hogarth Press.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Loss: Sadness and depression: Attachment and loss, Vol. 3. London:
Hogarth Press.
Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment:
An integrated overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close
relationships (pp. 46–76). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Brown, T. A., Chorpita, B. F., Korotitsch, W., & Barlow, D. H. (1997). Psychometric properties of
the depression, anxiety and stress scales (DASS) in clinical samples. Behaviour and Research
Therapy, 35, 79–89.
Buss, D. M. (2003). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of mind (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
Buss, D. M., & Craik, K. H. (1986). Acts, dispositions and clinical assessment: The
psychopathology of everyday conduct. Clinical Psychology Review, 6, 387–406.
Cozolino, L. (2007). The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing
brain. New York, NY: Norton.
Dimmock, M., Grieves, S., & Place, M. (2008). Young people who cut themselves, a growing
challenge for educational settings. British Journal of Special Education, 35, 42–48.
Dykman, B. M. (1998). Integrating cognitive and motivational factors in depression: Initial tests of
a goal orientation approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 139–158.
Fortune, S. A., & Hawton, K. (2005). Deliberate self-harm in children and adolescents: A research
update. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 18, 401–406.
Fombonne, E. (1999). Time trends in affective disorders. In P. Cohen, C. Slomkowski, & L. Robins
(Eds.), Historical and geographical influences on psychopathology (pp. 115–140). Mahwah,
NJ: Erlabum.
Gerhardt, S. (2004). Why love matters: How affection shapes a baby’s brain. London: Routledge.
Gilbert, P. (1989). Human nature and suffering. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gilbert, P. (1992). Depression: The evolution of powerlessness. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

The dark side of competition 135

Gilbert, P. (1995). Biopsychosocial approaches and evolutionary theory as aids to integration in

clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2, 135–156.
Gilbert, P. (2005a). Compassion and cruelty: A biopsychosocial approach. In P. Gilbert (Ed.),
Compassion: Conceptualisations, research and use in psychotherapy (pp. 3–74). London:
Routledge.
Gilbert, P. (2005b). Social mentalities: A biopsychosocial and evolutionary reflection on social
relationships. In M. W. Baldwin (Ed.), Interpersonal cognition (pp. 299–335). New York, NY:
Guilford.
Gilbert, P. (2007). Psychotherapy and counselling for depression (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Gilbert, P., & Allan, S. (1994). Assertiveness, submissive behaviour and social comparison. British
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 33, 295–306.
Gilbert, P., & Allan, S. (1998). The role of defeat and entrapment (arrested flight) in depression:
An exploration of an evolutionary view. Psychological Medicine, 28, 585–598.
Gilbert, P., Allan, S., Brough, S., Melley, S., & Miles, J. (2002). Anhedonia and positive affect:
Relationship to social rank, defeat and entrapment. Journal of Affective Disorders, 71,
141–151.
Gilbert, P., Allan, S., & Trent, D. (1996). A short measure of social and separation anxiety. British
Journal of Medical Psychology, 69, 155–161.
Gilbert, P., Broomhead, C., Irons, C., McEwan, K., Bellew, R., Mills, A., et al. (2007). Development
of a striving to avoid inferiority scale. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 633–648.
Gilbert, P. C., & Gelsma, C. (1999). Recall of favouritism in relation to psychopathology. British
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 357–373.
Gilbert, P., & Irons, C. (2005). Focused therapies and compassionate mind training for shame and
self-attacking. In P. Gilbert (Ed.), Compassion: Conceptualisations, research and use in
psychotherapy. London: Brunner-Routledge.
Gilbert, P., & Irons, C. (in press). Shame, self-criticism, and self-compassion in adolescence.
In N. Allen (Ed.), Psychopathology in adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gilbert, P., & Procter, S. (2006). Compassionate mind training for people with high shame and self-
criticism: A pilot study of a group therapy approach. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy,
13, 353–379.
Goss, K., Gilbert, P., & Allan, S. (1994). An exploration of shame measures I: The ‘other as shamer
scale’. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 713–717.
Guidano, V. F., & Liotti, G. (1983). Cognitive processes and emotional disorders. New York, NY:
Guilford Press.
James, O. (1998). Britain on the couch: A treatment for the low serotonin society. London:
Century.
Kasser, T. (2002). The high price of materialism. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Keller, M. B., McCullough, J. P., Klein, D. N., et al. (2000). A comparison of nefazodone, the
cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy and their combination for the treatment
of chronic depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 32, 1462–1470.
Lasch, C. (1979). The culture of narcissism: American life in an age of diminishing expectations.
New York, NY: Norton.
Leary, M. R. (1995). Self-presentation: Impression management and interpersonal behaviour.
Madison: Wisconsin: Brown & Benchmark’s.
Leary, M. R. (Ed.), (2001). Interpersonal rejection. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Liotti, G. (2000). Disorganised attachment, models of borderline states and evolutionary
psychotherapy. In P. Gilbert & B. Bailey (Eds.), Genes on the couch: Explorations in
evolutionary psychotherapy (pp. 232–256). Hove: Brunner-Routledge.
Liotti, G. (2002). The inner schema of borderline states and its correction during psychotherapy:
A cognitive evolutionary approach. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International
Quarterly, 16, 349–365.
 Copyright © The British Psychological Society
Reproduction in any form (including the internet) is prohibited without prior permission from the Society

136 P. Gilbert et al.

Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison
of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck depression and anxiety
inventories. Behaviour and Research Therapy, 33, 335–343.
McCullough, J. P., Jr (2000). Treatment for chronic depression: Cognitive behavioral analysis
system of psychotherapy. New York, NY: Guilford.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2004). Security-based self-representations in adulthood: Contents
and processes. In N. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Adult attachment: Theory, research, and
clinical implications (pp. 159–195). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and
change. New York, NY: Guilford.
Murray, C. J. L., & Lopex, A. D. (1996). The Global Burden of Disease: A comprehensive
assessment of mortality and disability from diseases. Injuries and risk factors in 1990 and
projected to 2020. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Safran, J. D., & Segal, Z. V. (1990). Interpersonal process in cognitive therapy. New York, NY:
Basic Books.
Sansone, R. A., Wiederman, M. A., & Sansone, L. A. (1998). The self-harm inventory (SHI):
Development of a scale for identifying self-destructive behaviours and borderline personality
disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 973–983.
Siegel, D. J. (2001). Toward an interpersonal neurobiology of the developing mind: Attachment
relationships ‘mindsight’ and neural integration. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22, 67–94.
The Children’s Society (2006). The good childhood inquiry: The UK’s first independent national
inquiry into childhood. [Online]. Available at: www.goodchildhood.org [accessed September
21, 2006].

Received 3 April 2008; revised version received 18 August 2008