title: Growth motivation as a moderator of behavioral self-handicapping in women.
abstract: Behavioral self-handicapping is a strategy used to protect attributions about ability. People behaviorally self-handicap by creating an obstacle to their success so failure is attributed to the obstacle instead of to their ability. Although past research has observed behavioral self-handicapping exclusively in men, the current research revealed a moderator of behavioral self-handicapping in women: growth motivation, which reflects the desire to develop one's abilities and learn from failure. Participants (N = 100) completed a test purportedly predictive of successful careers and relationships, and some were given failure feedback about their performance. Participants could behaviorally self-handicap by choosing to complete another test in a performance-impairing environment. Although men self-handicapped more overall, women self-handicapped more after failure when they were low in growth motivation. These results highlight a novel moderator of behavioral self-handicapping in women.
authors.affiliation: Saint Louis University, Department of Psychology, 221 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63109, USA. USA. cbrown81@slu.edu
authors.forename: Christina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Sun W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Susan F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Folger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001076:Aptitude; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012649:Self Concept