How cooperativeness and competitiveness influence student burnout: the moderating effect of neuroticism

We examined how being cooperative and competitive influence student burnout (i.e., students’ exhaustion, cynicism, and diminished professional efficacy) and the moderating role of neuroticism. First- and second-year university students (N = 257) completed the measures of cooperativeness, competitiveness, neuroticism, and student burnout. Results show that cooperativeness had a negative correlation with each one of the dimensions of burnout. Competitiveness did not have a negative correlation. For an individual with high neuroticism, cooperativeness did not contribute to professional efficacy but competitiveness tended to counteract any diminishing ini professional efficacy.