One-upmanship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One-upmanship is the systematic and conscious practice of making one's associates feel inferior and thereby gaining the status of being "one-up" on them.

The term originated as the title of a book by Stephen Potter, a follow-up to the Gamesmanship and Lifemanship titles in his series of tongue-in-cheek self-help books, and film and television derivatives, that teach various "ploys" to achieve this.

Viewed seriously, it is a phenomenon of group dynamics that can have significant effects in the management field: for instance, manifesting in office politics.

The term has been extended to a generic, often punning, extension upmanship used for any assertion of superiority: for instance, Photon upmanship, Wine Upmanship, Native Upmanship, and so on.

[edit] Fictional characters with oneupmanship

Topper from Dilbert comic strips.