TY - JOUR
AU - Rhodewalt, Frederick
AB - 
A field study was conducted to test the hypothesis that discounted and augmented ability self-attributions mediate the interactive effects of claimed self-handicaps and academic success and failure on self-esteem. College students were assessed for individual differences in self-handicapping and self-esteem at the beginning of the term and then completed a checklist of claimed self-handicaps immediately preceding their first in-class exam. At the following class, graded exams were returned to the students, who then completed measures of mood, self-esteem, and performance attributions. High self-handicappers claimed more excuses prior to the test. Among failing students, claimed handicaps were associated with greater discounting of ability attributions and higher self-esteem. Among successful students, claimed handicaps were associated with augmented ability attributions and enhanced self-esteem. However, we failed to find support for sex differences in claimed self-handicapping. The implications of the present research with regard to the functional utility of self-handicapping behavior are discussed.

TI - The Double-Edged Sword of Self-Handicapping: Discounting, Augmentation, and the Protection and Enhancement of Self-Esteem
JF - Motivation and Emotion
DO - 10.1023/A:1024434600296
DA - 2004-10-12
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/the-double-edged-sword-of-self-handicapping-discounting-augmentation-Du890Axo4N
SP - 147
EP - 163
VL - 21
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -