Costs of Self-Handicapping

✍ Scribed by Miron Zuckerman; Fen-Fang Tsai

• Book ID: 110946568
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 171 KB
• Volume: 73
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-3506
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00314.x

✦ Synopsis

Abstract Four studies examined the relation of trait self‐handicapping with health‐related measures. Study 1 showed that, over time, self‐handicapping and maladjustment reinforce each other. Study 2 showed that self‐handicappers reported a loss in competence satisfaction which, in turn, mediated the relation of self‐handicapping with negative mood. Study 3 found that, over time, self‐handicappers report an increase in substance use. Study 4 showed that self‐handicappers reported a loss in intrinsic motivation for their jobs. It was suggested that people with unstable (or contingent) self‐esteem use self‐handicapping to bolster a fragile self‐concept.