Self-handicapping decreases effort to protect self-worth, in contrast to defensive pessimism¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2000 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
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q2 i? Self-handicapping involves decreasing effort or procrastinating to protect self-worth by attributing likely poor outcomes to low effort rather than low ability, whereas defensive pessimism harnesses negative affect to increase effort. → Paul R. Pintrich 2000
Evidence¶
Paul R. Pintrich 2000¶
Paul R. Pintrich. (2000). The Role of Goal Orientation in Self-Regulated Learning. Handbook of Self-Regulation, Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-012109890-2/50043-3
q2 · i? · review · r2
Definitional and synthetic review statement contrasting two motivational regulation strategies. Defensive pessimism is described as harnessing anxiety about doing poorly to increase effort and perform better; self-handicapping works in the opposite direction through reduced effort.
"Self-handicapping, in contrast to defensive pessimism, involves the decrease of effort (little or no studying) or procrastination (only cramming for an exam, writing a paper at the very end of the deadline) to protect self-worth by attributing the likely poor outcome to low effort, not low ability"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Anticipatory test anxiety can set off a downward spiral of maladaptive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors
- Poorly designed or misused assessment practices can harm students through increased anxiety, lost learning time, and deficit-based messages — related
- Prolonged reading failure leads students to attribute failure to fixed low ability and define reading as a failure situation — related
- Praise for intelligence, rather than for effort, after success undermines children's motivation and performance after a later failure — related
- Academic procrastination and learned helplessness positively predict cheating tendency, while academic self-efficacy negatively predicts it among university students — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
self-handicapping-versus-defensive-pessimism |
title |
Self-handicapping decreases effort to protect self-worth, in contrast to defensive pessimism |
description |
Self-handicapping decreases effort to protect self-worth, in contrast to defensive pessimism |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2000 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — paul-r-pintrich-2000 |
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