Reducing the tendency to self-handicap: The effect of self-affirmation

Self-handicapping, the creating or claiming of obstacles to one’s performance to influence explanations given for subsequent outcomes, has been shown to have a host of attitudinal and behavioral consequences. Given the wide ranging impact of self-handicapping, it is important to understand the conditions under which self-handicapping is more or less likely to occur. Accordingly, the present study tested the hypothesis that people will be less likely to engage in self-handicapping if they have previously engaged in self-affirmation. The results of this study found that self-affirmation was more effective in reducing self-handicapping behavior when individuals experienced non-contingent success than when they experience contingent success. Theoretical contributions to the self-handicapping and self-affirmation literatures are discussed, as are practical implications.     

On being sad and evasive: Affective influences on verbal communication strategies in conflict situations

Does mood influence people’s tendency to engage in evasive, equivocal communication when facing conflict situations? Based on recent affect-cognition theories and research on verbal communication, this experiment predicted that negative mood should increase, and positive mood decrease the level of verbal evasiveness in conflict situations, and that high situational conflict should magnify these mood effects. Participants underwent a happy or sad audiovisual mood induction, and then produced verbal responses to low- and high-conflict situations using structured as well as open-ended responses. Results indicated that affect and conflict severity had an interactive influence on evasiveness and equivocation: negative affect produced significantly more evasiveness than positive affect, and these effects were greater in high than in low-conflict situations. These results are discussed in terms of the cognitive strategies that mediate mood effects on verbal communication. The implications of the findings for everyday communication situations, and for current affect-cognition theorizing are considered.     

具体情绪及非依随反馈方式对自我妨碍的影响

该研究采用实验法考察了具体情绪以及非依随反馈方式对自我妨碍的影响。被试为104名大学生。结果表明：1）愉快组被试做出的决策型自我妨碍行为较少;恐惧组被试做出的回避型自我妨碍较多。2）两种非依随反馈方式对自我妨碍的影响没有显著差异。3）无论是决策型自我妨碍还是回避型自我妨碍,男生均高于女生。     

Personal,Interpersonal, and Situational Influences on Behavioral Self-Handicapping

ABSTRACT

This study explored the combined effects of personal factors (participant sex), interpersonal factors (experimenter sex), and situational factors (performance feedback) on two forms of behavioral self-handicapping. Participants received non-contingent success or failure feedback concerning their performance on a novel ability and were given the opportunity to self-handicap before performing again. Behavioral self-handicapping took the form of (a) exerting less practice effort (practice) or (b) choosing a performance-debilitating tape (choice). Men practiced least after failure feedback and chose a debilitating tape if they were interacting with a female experimenter. Generally, across all participants in both choice and practice conditions, high performance concern and the presence of a male experimenter led to the most self-handicapping. Results are interpreted in terms of self-presentational concerns that emphasize a desire to impress or an awareness of the female or male experimenter's acceptance of self-handicappers.     

Self-Handicapping in the Classroom: The Effects of Claimed Self-Handicaps on Responses to Academic Failure

The hypothesis that self-handicapping is in the service of self-esteem protection was examined in a naturalistic setting. College students were assessed for individual differences in self-handicapping and attributional style at the beginning of the term. Prior to the first exam they had an opportunity to claim handicaps that might hamper their performance on the exam. After receiving feedback that they had performed poorly on the exam, all students completed measures of mood, self-esteem, and performance attributions. Support for the hypothesis was found for men but not for women. Level of self-handicapping interacted with sex of subject such that high self handicapping among men predicted claimed handicapping prior to the exam and more external attributions for poor performance and higher self-esteem following feedback. Among women, the relations between self-handicapping tendencies and claimed handicaps and performance attributions were weaker than for men. In addition, unlike men's, women's post feedback self-esteem was unrelated to claimed handicaps and performance attributions. Potential mechanisms underlying sex differences in self-handicapping and responses to negative feedback are discussed.     

Developing a measure of interpretation bias for depressed mood: An ambiguous scenarios test

The tendency to interpret ambiguous everyday situations in a relatively negative manner (negative interpretation bias) is central to cognitive models of depression. Limited tools are available to measure this bias, either experimentally or in the clinic. This study aimed to develop a pragmatic interpretation bias measure using an ambiguous scenarios test relevant to depressed mood (the AST-D).¹ In Study 1, after a pilot phase (N = 53), the AST-D was presented via a web-based survey (N = 208). Participants imagined and rated each AST-D ambiguous scenario. As predicted, higher dysphoric mood was associated with lower pleasantness ratings (more negative bias), independent of mental imagery measures. In Study 2, self-report ratings were compared with objective ratings of participants’ imagined outcomes of the ambiguous scenarios (N = 41). Data were collected in the experimental context of a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner. Consistent with subjective bias scores, independent judges rated more sentences as negatively valenced for the high versus low dysphoric group. Overall, results suggest the potential utility of the AST-D in assessing interpretation bias associated with depressed mood.     

Cultural determinants of status: Implications for workplace evaluations and behaviors

Status is a valued workplace resource that facilitates career success, yet little is known regarding whether and how cultural orientation affects status attainment. We integrate status characteristics theory with the literature on individualism and collectivism and propose a cultural patterning in the determinants of status. Four studies (N = 379) demonstrate that cultural orientation influences the tendency to view high status individuals as competent versus warm (Study 1), uncover cultural differences in both individuals’ tendency to engage in competence and warmth behaviors to attain workplace status (Study 2) and evaluators’ tendency to ascribe status to individuals who demonstrate competence versus warmth (Study 3), and verify that cultural differences in the effects of competence and warmth on status perceptions, and in turn performance evaluations, generalize to real world interdependent groups (Study 4). Our findings advance theory on the cultural contingencies of status attainment and have implications for managing diversity at work.     

State mood,task performance,and behavior at work: A within-persons approach

We examine the intra-individual relationships between state mood and the primary components of the individual-level criterion space (task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and work withdrawal) as they vary within the stream of work. Using experience-sampling methods, 67 individuals in a call center responded to surveys on palmtop computers at random intervals 4–5 times each day for 3 weeks (total N = 2329). These data were matched to objective task performance obtained from organizational call records (total N = 1191). Within-persons, periods of positive mood were associated with periods of improved task performance (as evidenced by shorter call time) and engaging in work withdrawal. Trait meta-mood moderated these relationships. Specifically, individuals who attended to their moods had a stronger relationship between mood and speed of task performance (call time) and individuals able to repair their mood cognitively evidenced a weaker relationship between mood and withdrawal. Implications and the use of within-persons designs are discussed.     

Can negative affect eliminate the power of first impressions? Affective influences on primacy and recency effects in impression formation

Can good or bad mood influence the common tendency for people to form judgments based on first impressions? Based on research on impression formation and recent work on affect and social cognition, this experiment predicted and found that positive mood increased, and negative mood eliminated the primacy effect. After an autobiographical mood induction (recalling happy or sad past events), participants (N = 284) formed impressions about a character, Jim described either in an introvert-extrovert, or an extrovert-introvert sequence (Luchins, 1958). Impression formation judgments revealed clear mood and primacy main effects, as well as a mood by primacy interaction. Primacy effects were increased by positive mood, consistent with the more assimilative, holistic processing style associated with positive affect. Negative mood in turn eliminated primacy effects, consistent with a more accommodative, externally focused processing style. The relevance of these findings for first impressions in everyday judgments is considered, and their implications for recent affect-cognition theories are discussed.     

Learned helplessness and IQ differences

Two groups of adult Ss differing in verbal IQ were compared in a learned helplessness experiment involving cognitive tasks and non-contingent rewards. The mean IQs for the two groups were 131 and 117. As predicted, the higher IQ Ss performed better overall and showed greater awareness of the response-outcome contingency. Their test-task performance was also more affected by the contingency manipulation although this occured only with success feedback. Implications of the results for cognitive accounts of human helplessness are discussed.     

Can happy mood reduce the just world bias? Affective influences on blaming the victim

Do temporary moods influence people's tendency to blame victims for undeserved negative events? Based on research on the just world effect and recent affect theories, this experiment predicted and found that positive mood decreased and negative mood increased people's motivation to blame innocent victims for their misadventures. Participants (N = 70) were induced into positive or negative mood by viewing films, and subsequently read a newspaper article describing a random assault on either a fellow student (in-group member) or a corporate employee (out-group member). Their reactions were assessed on three measures: attributions of responsibility, dissociation from the victim and character evaluations. Positive mood reduced and negative mood increased the tendency to blame the victim, and in-group victims were blamed more than out-group victims. These results are discussed in terms of recent theories of affect and motivation, and their implications for real-life social judgments are considered.     

Uncovering hockey fans' motivations behind their derogatory behaviors and how these motives predict psychological well-being and quality of social identity

ObjectiveThis article tested whether hockey fans' selfdetermined and non self-determined motivation for engaging in derogatory behaviors against an outgroup team predicted the frequency of these behaviors, fans' psychological well-being, and the quality of their social identity as a fan of their team. The two psychological theories we employ in the current research (i.e., self-determination theory and social identity theory) have different assumptions concerning the motivation behind derogatory fan behavior.DesignThree correlational studies were conducted among hockey fans.MethodsFans of rival hockey fans (Study 1; N = 45), fans of the Montreal Canadiens (Study 2; N = 181), and fans of NHL teams (Study 3; N = 105) completed measures of selfdetermination to engage in derogatory behaviors, frequency of these behaviors, psychological well-being, and quality of social identity. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test if the frequency, well-being, and quality of social identity variables were predicted by the self-determined and non self-determined motivations to engage in derogatory behaviors.ResultsAs expected based on self-determination theory (SDT), the more hockey fans engage in derogatory behaviors for non self-determined reasons, the lower their well-being and the less frequently they report engaging in the derogatory behaviors. Moreover, as expected based on social identity theory (SIT), the more hockey fans engage in the derogatory behaviors for self-determined reasons, the higher their well-being, the frequency of these behaviors, and the more positive their social identity.ConclusionsTheses results are interpreted in light of SDT and SIT's theoretical propositions. Comparisons are made with prior studies conducted on this topic.     

On bad mood and white bears: The effects of mood state on ability to suppress unwanted thoughts

Does temporary mood influence people's ability to engage in effective thought suppression? Based on past research on mental control and recent work on affective influences on social cognition, this experiment predicted and found that negative mood improved and positive mood impaired people's ability to suppress their thoughts when instructed not to think of a neutral concept, white bears. We also found clear evidence for ironic rebound effects: on a subsequent generative task, intrusions of the suppressed thought were greater in the negative than in the positive mood group. Participants received positive or negative feedback about performance on a supposed creativity task to induce positive or negative moods, and then engaged in two consecutive generative writing tasks, the first accompanied by instructions to suppress thoughts of white bears. Those in a negative group reported fewer “white bear” intrusions when attempting to suppress, but more “white bear” intrusions (an ironic rebound effect) in the subsequent task when the suppression instruction was lifted. The implications of these results for everyday tasks of mental control, and for recent affect–cognition theories are discussed.     

Gender makes the difference: The moderating role of leader gender on the relationship between leadership styles and subordinate performance

Using a predominantly male research and development (R&D) sample and a predominantly female customer service personnel sample, we investigated how authoritarian and benevolent leadership styles interact with leader gender to influence subordinate performance (i.e., task performance, citizenship behavior, and creativity). Our research extends role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002) by adopting  and  attribution principles to offer a more comprehensive framework for explaining how leader gender affects the impact of leadership styles on subordinate performance. Our results suggest that the negative relationship between authoritarian leadership and subordinate performance is stronger for female than for male leaders and that the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and subordinate performance is stronger for male than for female leaders. Accordingly, in addition to leaders’ engaging in gender-role congruent behaviors, a useful strategy is to adopt behaviors that are perceived as a positive deviation from their gender role.     

On being happy and gullible: Mood effects on skepticism and the detection of deception

Are we more likely to believe or disbelieve another person depending on our mood state? Based on past research on interpersonal communication and recent work on affect and social cognition, we predicted and found that negative mood increased and positive mood decreased people’s skepticism and their ability to detect deception, consistent with the more externally focused, accommodative processing style promoted by negative affect. After a mood induction using positive, neutral or negative films, participants viewed deceptive or truthful interviews with individuals who denied committing a theft. Judgments of the targets’ guilt and their truthfulness were collected. As predicted, negative mood increased judges’ skepticism towards the targets, and improved their accuracy in detecting deceptive communications, while judges in a positive mood were more trusting and gullible. The relevance of these findings for everyday judgments of trust and the detection of deception are considered, and their implications for recent affect-cognition theories are discussed.     

Approach-avoidance responses to infant facial expressions in nulliparous women: Associations with early experience and mood induction

Infant expressions are important signals for eliciting caregiving behaviors in parents. The present study sought to test if infant expressions affect adults’ behavioral response, taking into account the role of a mood induction and childhood caregiving experiences. A modified version of the Approach Avoidance Task (AAT) was employed to study nulliparous female university students’ implicit responses to infant faces with different expressions. Study 1 showed that sad, neutral and sleepy expressions elicit a tendency for avoidance, while no tendency for approach or avoidance was found for happy faces. Notably, differences between approach and avoidance response latencies for sad faces and participants’ negative caregiving experiences were positively correlated (r = 0.30, p = 0.04, Bonferroni corrected), indicating that individuals who experienced insensitive parental care show more bias toward sad infant faces. In Study 2, we manipulated participants' current mood (inducing sad and happy mood by asking to recall a happy or sad event of their recent life) before the AAT. Results showed that sad mood enhanced the bias toward sad faces that is buffered by positive mood induction. In conclusion, these findings indicate that implicit approach avoidance behaviors in females depend on the emotional expression of infant faces and are associated with childhood caregiving experiences and current mood.     

Dispositional bases of self-serving positive evaluations

Positive orientation (POS) is the name given to the latent dimension common to self-esteem, optimism and life satisfaction. Earlier findings attest to the trait-like nature of POS and to its unique contribution to well-adjustment across domains of functioning. The present study investigates the extent to which POS accounts for individuals’ tendency to distort their self-assessment in a positive direction. Taking a class of students (N = 190) at the beginning of their academic year, POS predicted the individuals’ tendency to perform academically better-than-average (BTA) peers. POS accounted for BTA beyond what is merely due to self-esteem, life satisfaction and optimism.     

The worker scale: Developing a measure to explain gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping

Research has consistently found that men engage in more behavioral self-handicapping than do women. We first review evidence suggesting that these gender differences result from women placing more importance on displaying effort than do men. We then present the results of two studies seeking to develop measures of beliefs about effort that might explain these gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping. Women, across a wide range of measures, placed more importance on effort than did men. However, only a new measure of more personalized effort beliefs, dubbed the Worker scale, uniquely explained gender differences in dispositional tendency to behaviorally self-handicap. The Worker scale also predicted academic performance, consistent with the notion that these effort beliefs would predict engagement in actual behavioral self-handicaps that undermine performance.     

Knowledge of results after relatively good trials enhances self-efficacy and motor learning

Objectives

This study sought to determine whether learners’ self-efficacy and motor learning was affected by the type of feedback they were provided.

Method

Participants (N = 24, M age = 19.51 years, SD = 1.08) were randomly assigned into one of two groups: knowledge of result after good versus poor trials. The task included throwing a tennis ball with the non-dominate hand to a target while wearing vision distorting goggles. Participants completed the Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, 2006) before performing each block of 6 trials. A retention test without knowledge of results was conducted 24 h after the practice phase.

Results

The results demonstrated that learners’ motor learning was increased by providing knowledge of results after good rather than poor trials. Furthermore, the Self-Efficacy Scale results revealed that learners’ self-efficacy was enhanced by positive feedback.

Conclusions

The current findings indicate that positive feedback impacts learner’s self-efficacy, and enhances performance and motor learning.     

Imposter phenomenon and self-handicapping: Links with parenting styles and self-confidence

This study examined parental rearing styles and objective confidence in relation to impostor phenomenon (feelings of phoniness experienced by individuals who have achieved some level of success, Clance & Imes, 1978) and self-handicapping tendencies (creation of an impediment to performance as an excuse for possible failure, Jones & Berglas, 1978). Participants (N = 115) completed measures of impostorism, self-handicapping, parental bonding (for each parent) and Esoteric Analogies test with confidence judgments. Impostor feelings were predicted by paternal overprotection and lack of paternal care. Self-handicapping scores were predicted by lack of maternal care. A significant relationship was found between impostorism and self-handicapping. Supporting the nature of the impostor phenomenon, impostors showed a “gap” between assessment of their performance and actual task-related achievements.