Know thyself: misperceptions of actual performance undermine achievement motivation, future performance, and subjective well-being.
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 performance, compared with accurate self-assessment, both inflated and deflated self-assessments of task performance are associated with a greater tendency to (a) practice self-handicapping (Study 1: prefer to work under distraction; Study 2: withhold preparatory effort), (b) perform relatively poorly in a subsequent task (Study 3), (c) have relatively low academic achievement (Study 4), and (d) report a relatively low level of subjective well-being (Study 5). The authors discuss these results in terms of their educational implications.
Kim
Young-Hoon
YH
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA. solagratia72@gmail.com
Chiu
Chi-Yue
CY
Zou
Zhimin
Z
D000124:Achievement; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004522:Educational Status; D030141:Feedback, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult