Contrary to the popular assumption that self-enhancement improves task motivation and future performance, the authors propose that both inflated and deflated self-assessments of performance are linked to an increased likelihood of practicing self-handicapping and having relatively poor performance in future tasks. Consistent with this proposal, we found that irrespective of the level of actual ...

Self-handicapping and self-esteem were assessed as predictors of completion of or withdrawal from military recruit training. Three hundred and fifty three male recruits completed trait self-handicapping and self-esteem measures. Discriminant function analysis indicated that successful completion of training could be correctly predicted from these two constructs, with 92.6% accuracy. Moreover, r...

Previous work (Knee & Zuckerman, 1996) found that the combination of high autonomy and low control was associated with fewer self-enhancing attributions after success and fewer self-protective attributions after failure. The present research again found strong support for a synergistic effect of causality orientations on defensive behavior through a prospective examination of defensive coping s...

Interviews with 1st-year university students selected as high or low in either self-handicapping or defensive pessimism identified (a) personal perspectives on the nature of self-handicapping and defensive pessimism, (b) the perceived reasons why they engage in these strategies and the perceived advantages that follow from them, and (c) the extent to which ego goals and task goals mark their ap...

The present study investigated whether the short version of the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS; Rhodewalt, 1990) is a reliable measure of self-handicapping outside of academic settings. Across 3 samples of athletes, analyses indicated that SHS items were not very meaningful to respondents and the subscales lacked internal consistency, particularly the e€ort subscale (a and composite reliability e...

Objective: One way of improving the quality of life is to eliminate its barriers. Selfhandicapping is a form of problematic behavior, which investigating its effect on the quality of life is of great importance. The present study aimed to examine the relationship of selfhandicapping with the quality of life in primary students.  Methods: This research is a correlational that condoucted on st...

The typical classroom illustrates many common social psychology concepts and phenomena, although often with less–than–desirable results. I give examples of self–handicapping, self–serving bias, belief perseverance, the fundamental attribution error, social categorization, and the overjustification effect as they occur in the classroom. It is possible that alerting instructors and students to th...