Self-Handicapping: The Paradox That Isn't / Edition 1

by Raymond L. Higgins, C.R. Snyder, Steven Berglas

Overview

The concept of self-handicapping can be legitimately anchored in a vari­ ety of intellectual contexts, some old and some newer. As this volume reminds us, Alfred Adler was perhaps the first to articulate the signifi­ cance of various self-defeating claims and gestures for protecting the self­ concept. Thus the apparent paradox of "defeat" in the interests of "pro­ tection. " More recently (but still more than 30 years ago), Heider's "naive psychology" added attributional rhetoric to the description of self-defeat­ ing strategies. While predominantly cognitive in its thrust, the attribu­ tional approach incorporated several motivational influences-especially those involving egocentric concerns. Heider hardly violated our common sense when he suggested that people are inclined to attribute their performances in a self-serving manner: the good things I caused; the bad things were forced upon me. The notion of self-handicapping strategies, proposed by Berglas and myself a little more than a decade ago, capitalized on these homely truths while adding a particular proactive twist. We not only make ex­ cuses for our blunders; we plan our engagements and our situational choices so that self-protective excuses are unnecessary. In doing so, we use our attributional understanding to arrange things so that flawed and failing performances will not be interpreted in ways that threaten our self-esteem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306435409
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	06/30/1990
Series:	The Springer Series in Social Clinical Psychology
Edition description:	1990
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.36(d)

Table of Contents

1 Self-Handicapping: Historical Roots and Contemporary Branches.- 2 Situational Influences on Self-Handicapping.- 3 Self-Handicappers: Individual Differences in the Preference for Anticipatory, Self-Protective Acts.- 4 Self-Handicapping Processes and Sequelae: On the Taking of a Psychological Dive.- 5 Self-Handicapping: Etiological and Diagnostic Considerations.- 6 The Maintenance and Treatment of Self-Handicapping: From Risk-Taking to Face-Saving—and Back.- 7 Self-Handicapping from a Heiderian Perspective: Taking Sk of “Bonds”.- Author Index.

Editorial Reviews

Self-handicapping is a protective psychological mechanism for controlling the conditions of performance in order to provide a built in attribution for failure. The apparent paradox is that the choice of inhibiting conditions makes failure more likely, thus undermining the very competence image that self-handicapping is designed to protect. This volume draws on both clinical and social psychology to trace the historical development of the concept and to present what is currently known about the character, causes and treatment of self-handicapping. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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