solved Unit 5: Discussion No unread replies.No replies. Directions Respond to

Unit 5: Discussion
No unread replies.No replies.
Directions
Respond to the following discussion question. Each question response should be 100-150 words.

Submit initial post by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, CT. 

Respond to two or more classmates’ posts by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, CT.
This Unit’s Question
Discuss competition in the context of friendship. Do you believe that it is healthy or unhealthy?

POST 1
If there exists a competitive relationship within a group of friends I would say that is not a healthy friendship. A healthy friendship consists of mutual affection between people from the same or opposite sex. Friendships usually share of bonding, communication and mutual interests as well as differences which could make a relationship stronger as long as it does not cause difficulties among the relationship. This could refer to “competitive” relationships which at certain point they could be acceptable among friends sharing common goals and not competing among each other to see who is better than the other. Competition in friendship has been related to less friendship satisfaction for both women and men (Helgeson, p.341). Therefore, is there is no satisfaction involved in a relationship then it cannot be a healthy friendship.
Reference:
Helgeson, V.S. (2017). Psychology of Gender. Routledge.

Post 2
Discuss competition in the context of friendship. Do you believe that it is healthy or unhealthy?
Competition in friendship is unhealthy but commonplace. It is difficult to confidently trust someone while in competition. Competiveness creates emotional barriers, making it more difficulty to form close bonds. Rather than celebrating a friend’s achievements, a competitor would feel threatened by them. Self-disclosure is less likely in a competitive relationship, for fear of revealing shortfalls. One may feel that their social status is threatened by losing the competition. Men demonstrate their competitive nature in obvious ways while women will take less direct approaches. Men may make damaging comments or use physical aggression. Women will use body language, facial expressions, or take indirect actions in expression of competitiveness.
Competition in friendships can be destructive to the relationship as well as each person’s self-regard. Competition can stem from feelings of jealousy due to low self-esteem and lead to actions that cause friction. Unfortunately, society promotes competitiveness among friends. For women, media hypes up superficial standards and encourages comparison. For example, actresses and fashion models represent ideals for women, pressing importance on superficial factors. This theme is common in teen flicks, such as “Mean Girls”; there was constant competition among friends to be the most fashionable. For men, masculine social norms encourage competition in sports, professional life, and dating. The culture encourages competitiveness; this can strain friendships. Strong friendships can avoid these pitfalls and overcome these challenges.
Williams, M. (2012, December 23). Friendly Competition? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culturally…