Convergence of Self-Report Scales and Rorschach Indexes of Psychological Distress: The Moderating Role of Self-Disclosure

This study constructed an instrument which identifies people who fear success (FOS) in academic areas and conducted a laboratory study which tested the instrument's predictive validity. The theoretical formulation of the FOS phenomenon leads to the expectation that individuals high in the fear of success would demonstrate the following characteristics: low self-esteem, a preoccupation with the evaluative aspects of situations, a competitive orientation, repudiation of competence, and self-sabotage at the approach or attainment of success. The fear of success questionnaire is an 83-item scale with a reliability of .90. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, subjects identified by the FOS questionnaire were given either Success or nonsuccess feedback after completing the first of two equivalent reading tests. The results of the laboratory experiment indicated that there is strong clear evidence of self-sabotage under conditions of success among subjects who scored high on the FOS questionnaire.     

Fear of success: the construction and validation of a measuring instrument

This study constructed an instrument which identifies people who fear success (FOS) in academic areas and conducted a laboratory study which tested the instrument's predictive validity. The theoretical formulation of the FOS phenomenon leads to the expectation that individuals high in the fear of success would demonstrate the following characteristics: low self-esteem, a preoccupation with the evaluative aspects of situations, a competitive orientation, repudiation of competence, and self-sabotage at the approach or attainment of success. The fear of success questionnaire is an 83-item scale with a reliability of .90. In a 2 x 2 factorial design, subjects identified by the FOS questionnaire were given either Success or nonsuccess feedback after completing the first of two equivalent reading tests. The results of the laboratory experiment indicated that there is strong clear evidence of self-sabotage under conditions of success among subjects who scored high on the FOS questionnaire.     

Learned helplessness and “fear of success” in college women

Anagram performance in comparison and noncomparison situations of 90 high, medium, or low fear-of-success (FOS) women was examined after these subjects had experienced conditions within the traditional triadic learned helplessness design. Low FOS women in the comparison condition proved significantly more susceptible to learned helplessness effects than high FOS women on one dependent measure (number of incorrect anagrams), though not on the other (response latency). Results are discussed with reference to the FOS construct and to Zuckerman and Allison's (1976) scale, used in the present study. An argument is made for increased attention to personality variables within the learned helplessness paradigm.     

A comparison of projective and objective fear-of-success and sex-role orientation measures as predictors of women's performance on masculine and feminine tasks

This study compared projective and objective measures of fear of success (FOS) with each other and with a measure of sex-role orientation as alternative predictors of 309 college women's achievement behavior on masculine and feminine tasks. Neither the sex role nor the FOS measures predicted substantial performance differences on the masculine or feminine tasks, although the objective FOS scales and the Bem Sex Role Inventory did predict subjects' stated investment in the task and attributions for success in a manner generally consistent with FOS theory. In addition, the objective FOS scales showed strong relationships with achievement motivation and sex-role orientation, while TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) FOS was unrelated to either of these variables. The results provide partial support that objective FOS scales tap actual avoidance tendencies characteristic of traditionally feminine women, while the TAT measure reflects, at most, an ambivalence over success which may be equally characteristic of high achieving, nontraditional women and low achieving, traditional women.The research reported here was supported by Grant 1 R03 MH 28835-01 from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.     

Gender dependency of occupational deviance and role overload as determinants of fear of success imagery

The effects of occupational deviance and role overload on Fear of Success (FOS) scores were investigated following Bremer and Wittig's (1980) finding that these inflate FOS scores when a story cue describing a female character is given to respondents of both sexes. This finding was replicated by the present study. However, stories were also given that described events involving a male character. In this condition occupational deviance and role overload produced no such effect upon the FOS scores. Bremer and Wittig's suggestion that these two variables are independent of the sex of the cue character is therefore refuted and it is argued instead that these variables will be interpreted very differently depending on the sex of the cue character. The finding that male and female respondents produce very similar FOS scores to the same stories provides further evidence that such measurement techniques evoke sex-role stereotypes rather than an indication of the individual's motivation. The particular relevance to Parsons and Goff's (1980) emphasis upon the incentive value component of the McClelland/Atkinson Motivational Model is also explored.     

Fear of success as a situational phenomenon

This study was designed to determine whether different arousing situations will generate different responses in fear-of-success (FOS) and performance behavior. Female subjects were given instructions stating that the tasks they were going to complete would later be evaluated by a panel of males, females, or persons in order to determine whether the panel would select them as a potential friend, co-worker, or acquaintance. Results indicated that no significant differences in FOS were due to the different situations. However, there was evidence to conclude that level of performance behavior depends on the situation in which it is measured. Possible explanations for the failure to find FOS situational are discussed, as well as the inability to explain the significant interaction in performance behavior.     

Validation of three measures of fear of success

Three new instruments designed to measure fear of success are the Horner, Tresemer, Berens, and Watson empirically derived fantasy-based scoring system, the Pappo Fear of Success Questionnaire (FOS) and the Zuckerman and Allison Fear of Success Scale (FOSS). In the absence of evidence that scores on these instruments are positively correlated or that the instruments do not measure fear of failure, correlations were calculated between these three instruments and between these instruments and the Alpert-Haber Debilitating Anxiety Scale (DAS). It was found that only the FOS and FOSS fear of success instruments were correlated positively and significantly. However, all three fear of success instruments were correlated positively at a significant level with the DAS.     

Determinants of reduction in intended effort as a strategy for coping with anticipated failure

The present study investigated the use of reduction in intended effort as a strategy for protecting self-esteem from the threat of anticipated failure. It was hypothesized that people reduce the amount of effort they intend to exert when they expect a low probability of success on a highly ego-relevant task. Female subjects anticipated taking an easy (high probability of success) or difficult (low probability of success) test that was either high or low in ego relevance. Subjects' levels of intended effort and other task-relevant cognitions were assessed. It was found that subjects in the low-probability condition intended to exert less effort on the highly ego-relevant test than did subjects in the high-probability condition; probability of success had no effect on intended effort level on the low ego-relevance test. Subjects also reported that it was a worse day for a test in the low-probability condition than in the high-probability condition. The relevance of these findings to the egotism explanation of learned helplessness effects and general theories of motivation was discussed.     

Fear of failure and fear of success

Verbal leads were used to elicit TAT responses from 160 male and female high school seniors, under neutral and aroused conditions. These protocols were scored for fear of success (FOS) according to the 1973 revised scoring system developed by Horner, Tresemer, Berens, and Watson (Note 1) and also scored for fear of failure (FOF) according to the Hostile Press Scoring System developed by Birney, Burdick, and Teevan (1969). Significant positive correlations between the two motive scores were obtained under both neutral and aroused conditions. The lack of independence between the FOS and FOF scores reflects theoretical similarities in the definitions of the motives, as well as considerable overlap in the scoring systems. It was hypothesized that for those people (especially women) whose affiliative and achievement needs are interrelated, FOF and FOS may be nearly equivalent, since fear of social rejection thus becomes tantamount to fear of failure.     

Fear of success and failure,or norms for achievement?

Previous research has indicated that success in competitive situations is differentially perceived, considering the level of success and sex of person who succeeded. The amount of projected negative imagery of 100 college students under various degrees of a man's or woman's failure in medical school was investigated in the present study. Data indicated a pervasive tendency to downgrade unsuccessful men in relation to unsuccessful women. The possibility that subjects' responses reflect anxiety about the level of success and failure obtained, rather than anxiety about success and failure in general, is discussed.The authors thank D. F. Ricks for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Portions of this article were presented at the 6th Annual Conference for Research on Women and Education, Pacific Grove, California, December, 1980.     

Sex-role orientation and fear of success: Clarifying an unclear relationship

Inconsistencies in research concerning the relationship between fear of success (FOS) and sex-role orientation may be due to the use of sex-role inventories considering masculinity and femininity as endpoints of a bipolar continuum. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974), which treats masculinity and femininity as separate dimensions, was administered to 218 female undergraduates in addition to measures of FOS, achievement motivation, and performance. It was predicted that women who were androgynous (high feminine and high masculine) would evidence less FOS than women who were high masculine or high feminine. It was also predicted that women who embraced masculine characteristics (androgynous or sex-reversed) would be higher in both achievement motivation and performance than low masculine women. Both predictions were confirmed. Sex-reversed women were highest in FOS.This research was conducted with the support of a David Ross Grant from the Purdue Research Foundation to Dr. Kay Deaux and the author. Thanks are extended to William A. Fisher, Dr. Kay Deaux, and Dr. Elizabeth Farris for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. All correspondence should be addressed to Brenda Major, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 4230 Ridge Lea Road, Buffalo, New York 14226.     

Handedness, eye-dominance, and immediate memory

Twenty male university students varying in handedness and eye-dominance recalled conventional and unconventional digits under two conditions: (1) when the same type of digit was projected simultaneously to each eye, and (2) when a different type of digit was projected simultaneously to each eye.

Forty trials were given, each consisting of four pairs of digits with a different numeral projected to each eye. Performance was analysed in terms of percentage recalled correctly and time of onset of each response.

Right eye-dominant groups, particularly a right handed and right eye-dominant group, were superior in both accuracy of recall and speed of response to left eye-dominant groups. Least able in recall were left handed, left eye-dominant subjects. Superiority of right eye-dominant groups was especially marked when a different type of digit was projected to each eye.

In accord with results reported by Broadbent for the ears (1956, 1957), other results suggest it is possible for the eyes to operate simultaneously as independent information sources. However, unlike the case for audition, present subjects did not report all information from one eye before that from the other, but gave it in pairs. It seems that the capacity of the eyes to function independently depended upon eye-dominance and handedness, while serial ordering of responses reflected imposition of an habitual response organization.     

Women managers and fear of success: A study in the field

Reported here is the first stage of a study designed to test Matina Horner's fear of success (FOS) hypothesis in the field of management. A matched sample of 18 male and 18 female executives wrote stories for TAT-type verbal cues concerned with a successful management career. No significant differences were indicated between sexes in negative imagery, though both expressed anxiety toward success. Implications for Horner's hypothesis are discussed with respect to changing attitudes and expectations of men and women for each other and their relationships in business. The report concludes that understanding of FOS requires research on a broader representation of men and women actually involved in the pursuit of careers via ongoing studies in touch with rapidly changing times.This paper was presented, in part, at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, August 12, 1976.Special acknowledgment is made to Estelle D. Klinger, Jean M. Moore, Nancy L. Spear, Susan Vandenburg, and Rene Jackson-White for the ideas, time, and assistance they contributed to the research reported here.     

Effects of induced success/failure and attributions on the problem-solving behavior of psychologically androgynous and feminine women

The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between masculinity and femininity in women and their responses to induced success or failure. Also experimentally manipulated were the subjects' performance attributions. Psychologically androgynous and feminine women either succeeded or failed at a concept formation task and were provided with internal, external, or no causal attributions for their performance. Then a second concept formation task was administered. The attribution manipulation failed to affect task performance and was not involved in any interactions. For feminine subjects, failure increased the trials necessary to reach criterion on the second task, whereas success had no effect. In contrast, the performance of androgynous subjects was unaffected by failure but facilitated by success. Finally, whereas androgynous subjects attributed success primarily to their ability and failure to task difficulty, feminine subjects attributed success and failure about equally to these two factors. It was suggested that androgynous women's use of the “egotistical” pattern of performance attributions gives them an advantage over feminine women with respect to the maintenance of self-esteem.     

The reliability of the Family-of-Origin Scale for adolescents

The Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS), a 40-item, ten-subscale measure of family processes, exhibits promise for assessing adolescents' perceptions of family health. While initial research has suggested that the instrument demonstrates factorial validity, the reliability of the FOS for adolescents has not been established. The present study involved administering the FOS to 88 adolescents on two occasions, with a two-week interval between testings. The global FOS index and ten subscale scores demonstrated high test-retest reliability. Internal consistency reliability for the instrument was also high. When taken together with previous research, the current study's results suggest that the FOS for adolescents is psychometrically sound.     

Choice in a self-control paradigm with human subjects: Effects of changeover delay duration

The present experiment examined the choices of human subjects as a function of changeover delay (COD) duration. A self-control paradigm was used; subjects chose between larger, more delayed and smaller, less delayed reinforcers. The COD durations were 1 s, 15 s, and 30 s. The results indicated that at the 1-s COD, the subjects distributed their responses approximately equally between the two response alternatives. However, at the 15-s and 30-s COD durations, the subjects tended to demonstrate virtually exclusive preference for the larger, more delayed reinforcer. Furthermore, increasing the COD duration significantly increased the subjects' sensitivity to variation in reinforcer delay. Increasing the COD duration also increased the subjects' sensitivity to reinforcer amount, but this effect was not significant. The results are qualitatively consistent with an interpretation that the subjects followed a strategy which attempted to maximize overall amount of reinforcement.     

Researchers discover what they already knew about validity: The case of the family-of-Origin Scale

This article is concerned with two recnet studies of the Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS), Gavin and Wamboldt (1992) and Ryan, Kawash, Fine, and Powel (1994). The external validity analyses conducted for the FOS in these studies assumed the scale to be a unidemsional measure. The present discussion centers on methodological decisions and interpretive strategies that may have prevented a more complete understanding of the scale's dimensional structure and theoretical meaning. It is concluded that a unidimensional view of the FOS is an oversimplification that is inconsistent with the available data. A case is made for a more comprehensive and technically adequate evaluation of the FOS. Specific suggestions are offered.     

Relationships among attention, GSR activity, and perceived similarity of self and others

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that autonomic change is part of the identification process in a non-stressful paradigm Simulated taped interviews were prepared varying the dimensions of amount of work and success in college Emotional expression by the interviewees was kept to a minimum. College subjects responded with a significantly larger number of nonspecific GSRs to a tape identified by them as being more like themselves than to a tape identified as being less like themselves The nonsignificant comparisons of tapes were discussed in terms of the importance of cognitive activity on autonomic responsivity     

The effects of a model's success or failure on subsequent aggressive behavior

It was of interest in the present study to examine the influence of both aggressive and nonaggressive models who are successful or nonsuccessful in reducing aggression from an aggressive opponent. Male and female subjects viewed a same-sexed model interact with an aggressive opponent in a reaction time task. Half the subjects observed an aggressive model while the remaining subjects observed a nonaggressive model. For half the subjects the model was successful in reducing the aggressiveness of the opponent. Results indicated that both the model's behavior and the consequences to the model (success/nonsuccess) were important determinants of subsequent aggression by the subject. Results are discussed in terms of current research and theory in aggression control.