[VHFcontesting] The Psychology of Contest Participation

[Paul Kiesel]

Well, Joe, You seem to have the solution for most things. The problem here, though, is that we are talking about contests. People who enter competitions must realize that they may not win. It is not up to the contest sponsor to make it so a person's esteem is satisfied. The competitor must decide his own course of action based on the rules of the contest, the status of his station and his operating abilities. He should not enter a contest category to win the category if he knows he will lose. Rather, he should enter another category or not enter the contest at all, if his intent would be to win. Changing the rules because people find "loopholes and abuse them" is fine. But, let's not be changing the rules because people feel they are "being cheated." People don't lose contests because they are being cheated. They lose them because of poor choice of contest category, ineffective equipment or deficient operating tactics, or any combination of the three.

A solution for achieving high esteem: If you find that you probably won't win, Drop back and consider just having fun by competing with those whom you have similar circumstances, try to improve on previous scores that you've made or just have fun in the activity by participating.

73, 
Paul, K7CW
K7CW

--- On Sun, 2/15/09, Shupienis, Joseph <jshupienis at ccac.edu> wrote:
From: Shupienis, Joseph <jshupienis at ccac.edu>
Subject: [VHFcontesting] The Psychology of Contest Participation
To: vhfcontesting at contesting.com
Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009, 9:41 AM

"I read your posting with intense interest...from the perspective of
'why do people participate in Amateur radio events'.  Succinctly, it is
for two reasons: (A) Because it's fun and (B) there is a reward." -
W2EV

...

Way back when I was studying to become a teacher, I learned a lot in the
required psychology classes. Of particular interest to me was "Maslow's
Heirarchy" from his 1943 work, "A Theory of Human Motivation."

In a nutshell, we are motivated to meet our more basic needs before moving to
the more advanced needs. First and foremost are SURVIVAL needs -- food,
clothing, etc. Once these are met, we move up the pyramid to SECURITY needs --
safety, health, income, insurance, etc.

ONLY after these are ensured are we able to proceed to the next level.

Here is where our hobby comes in. The next level is SOCIAL needs, such as
family, friends, and peers. We all need to be wanted and accepted. When these
needs are not met, people will naturally do whatever they find necessary to
achieve them. This is why kids who don't have a strong sense of family join
street gangs. Acceptance. This is why we form clubs and associations. This is
why we participate in operating activities.

Only after we feel we "belong", do we move on to the fourth level,
ESTEEM needs. We need to know that our peers hold us in esteem as a result of
our efforts. That's why we like to win contests and get pieces of paper. We
need some proof that we have "climbed the ladder". There is nothing
wrong with that need -- we are wired that way. Only after we have achieved
justified recognition are we able to move on to SELF-esteem. I'm talking
about healthy feelings of self-worth, backed up by proof. (Unless other people
agree we are deservedly worthwhile, anything we tell ourselves is a probably a
lie and leads to "egotism." This is where "peer pressure"
can be positively used to keep us all honest, and to deflate an unhealthy ego by
knocking it down a peg.)

After all of this, and ONLY AFTER, can we reach the pinnacle of Maslow's
pyramid: SELF-ACTUALIZATION, a fancy term for being comfortable in our own skin.
The needs we have at this level are primarily leadership needs. Those who reach
this level are comfortably able to mentor others, to solve problems, to create
growth opportunities for others, to promote fairness, to judge fairly and
honestly, and to lead with kindness and wisdom.

...

What does all this have do with grid-circling rovers? Plenty. It's not hard
to perceive that they unfairly "rob" the rest of us
"traditional" rovers of the opportunity to meet our ESTEEM needs, no
matter how hard we work. This is VERY DISCOURAGING, as subconsciously we
perceive it as other people "CHEATING" us by taking a
"SHORTCUT" to a goal that we have worked very hard for a long time to
acheive.

It demoralizes us.

This legitimate issue can only be settled by those few at the peak of
Maslow's pyramid -- the self-actualized leaders. In our case it is the VUCC
and the contest sponsors. They are in the leadership position, and hopefully
they have climbed the pyramid honestly and with integrity.

If that is the case (as I am sure it is), they will understand that the
recognition and reward of hard work and individual effort is important, and
worthy of protection and official support. The rules, as they stand, are broken.
They allow a crafty few to get rewards for little effort (except for spending
money, and for road rallying), while others who put forth considerable effort to
"work as many stations in as many grid squares as possible" are
effectively shut out from achieving any well-deserved recognition for their
efforts and sacrifices.


The only way to fix it is to explicitly prohibit grid-circling in limited rover
and "classic" rover categories.


If allowed to continue, the traditional rovers will naturally find another way
to achieve their esteem needs. In my case, I've been welcomed with open arms
as an operator at a world-class multi-op station (W3SO). I am honored, and have
done my best to keep up the rate and to help out however I can.

That fulfills some of my esteem and self-actualization needs. I still prefer to
rove and still yearn to explore and operate from exotic mountaintops, and still
have antennas to design and experiment with, but those self-actualizing goals
will have to wait until I can put forth an honest effort on a level playing
field.


THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT IS TO EXPLICITLY PROHIBIT GRID-CIRCLING IN LIMITED ROVER
AND "CLASSIC" ROVER CATEGORIES.

73 de Joe, W3BC
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