A playful rivalry is one thing. But if you’ve got a competitive friend who’s seemingly determined to outshine you or bring you down…that sounds more like a secret hater than a companion. Of course, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Tracy Brower writes about joy, community and the future of work. In the process of making friends and maintaining friendships, ...

All social classes can experience competitive friendships, as Festinger (1954) first proposed in his Social Comparison Theory, which suggests that people have an innate drive to assess themselves by ...