Self-Handicapping, Excuse Making, and Counterfactual Thinking: Consequences for Self-Esteem and Future Motivation

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Volumn 95, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 274-292

  McCrea, Sean M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ   (Germany)

Author keywords

counterfactual thinking; motivation; self handicapping; self protection

Indexed keywords

AFFECT; ARTICLE; CONTROL; DECISION MAKING; DEFENSE MECHANISM; FEMALE; HUMAN; MALE; MOTIVATION; SELF CONCEPT; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR; THINKING;

AFFECT; DECISION MAKING; DEFENSE MECHANISMS; FEMALE; HUMANS; INTERNAL-EXTERNAL CONTROL; MALE; MOTIVATION; SELF CONCEPT; SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY; THINKING;

EID: 58149136615     PISSN: 00223514     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.95.2.274     Document Type: Article

References (83)

1. Aiken L.S., and West S.G. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions (1991), Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA
2. Algom D., Raphaeli N., and Cohen-Raz L. Integration of noxious stimulation across separate somatosensory communication systems: A functional theory of pain. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 12 (1986) 92-102
3. Amthauer R., Brocke B., Liepmann D., and Beauducel A. Intelligenz-Struktur-Test 2000 R. 2nd ed. (2001), Hogrefe Verlag, Goettingen, Germany
4. Bargh J.A., Gollwitzer P.M., Lee-Chai A., Barndollar K., and Troetschel R. The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81 (2001) 1014-1027
5. Baumeister R.F., and Tice D.M. Self-esteem and responses to success and failure: Subsequent performance and intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality 53 (1985) 450-467
6. Baumgardner A.H., and Levy P.E. Role of self-esteem in perceptions of ability and effort: Illogic or insight?. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 14 (1988) 429-438
7. Berglas S., and Jones E.E. Drug choice as a self-handicapping strategy in response to noncontingent success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36 (1978) 405-417
8. Boninger D.S., Gleicher F., and Strathman A. Counterfactual thinking: From what might have been to what may be. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67 (1994) 297-307
9. Branscombe N.R., Wohl M.J.A., Owen S., Allison J.A., and N'Gbala A. Counterfactual thinking, blame assignment, and well-being in rape victims. Basic and Applied Social Psychology 25 (2003) 265-273
10. Brown R.P., and Josephs R.A. A burden of proof: Stereotype relevance and gender differences in math performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76 (1999) 246-257
11. Cattell R.B., and Cattell A.K.S. Test of "g": Culture fair intelligence test (1961), The Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, Champaign, IL
12. Covington M.V., and Omelich C.L. Effort: The double-edged sword in school achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology 71 (1979) 169-182
13. Creyer E.H., and Guerhan Z. Who's to blame? Counterfactual reasoning and the assignment of blame. Psychology and Marketing 14 (1997) 209-222
14. Crocker J., Brook A.T., Niiya Y., and Villacorta M. The pursuit of self-esteem: Contingencies of self-worth and self-regulation. Journal of Personality 74 (2006) 1749-1771
15. Dunning D. Trait importance and modifiability as factors influencing self-assessment and self-enhancement motives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21 (1995) 1297-1306
16. Dweck C.S., and Leggett E.L. A social cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review 95 (1988) 256-273
17. Elliot A.J., Cury F., Fryer J.W., and Huguet P. Achievement goals, self-handicapping, and performance attainment: A mediational analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 28 (2006) 344-361
18. Epstude K., and Roese N.J. The functional theory of counterfactual thinking. Personality and Social Psychology Review 12 (2008) 168-192
19. Feick D.L., and Rhodewalt F. The double-edged sword of self-handicapping: Discounting, augmentation, and the protection and enhancement of self-esteem. Motivation and Emotion 21 (1997) 147-163
20. Festinger L., and Carlsmith J.M. Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 58 (1959) 203-210
21. Girotto V., Legrenzi P., and Rizzo A. Event controllability in counterfactual thinking. Acta Psychologica 78 (1991) 111-133
22. Goerke M., Möller J., Schulz-Hardt S., Napiersky U., and Frey D. "It's not my fault--but only I can change it": Counterfactual and prefactual thoughts of managers. Journal of Applied Psychology 89 (2004) 279-292
23. Harris R.N., and Snyder C.R. The role of uncertain self-esteem in self-handicapping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51 (1986) 451-458
24. Hendrix, K. S., & Hirt, E. R. (2008). Stressed out over possible failure: The effects of induced self-regulatory focus on claimed self-handicapping. Unpublished manuscript, Indiana University Bloomington.
25. Higgins R.L., and Berglas S. The maintenance and treatment of self-handicapping: From risk-taking to face-saving--and back. In: Higgins R.L. (Ed). Self-handicapping: The paradox that isn't. The Plenum series in social/clinical psychology (1990), Plenum, New York 187-238
26. Higgins R.L., and Harris R.N. Strategic "alcohol" use: Drinking to self-handicap. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 6 (1988) 191-202
27. Hirt E.R., Deppe R.K., and Gordon L.J. Self-reported versus behavioral self-handicapping: Empirical evidence for a theoretical distinction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61 (1991) 981-991
28. Hirt E.R., McCrea S.M., and Boris H.I. "I know you self-handicapped last exam": Gender differences in reactions to self-handicapping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84 (2003) 177-193
29. Hirt E.R., McCrea S.M., and Kimble C.E. Public self-focus and sex differences in behavioral self-handicapping: Does increasing self-threat still make it "just a man's game"?. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26 (2000) 1131-1141
30. Jones E.E., and Berglas S. Control of attributions about the self through self-handicapping strategies: The appeal of alcohol and the role of underachievement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 4 (1978) 200-206
31. Kahneman D., and Miller D.T. Norm theory: Comparing reality to its alternatives. Psychological Review 93 (1986) 136-153
32. Kanner A.D., Coyne J.C., Schaeffer C., and Lazarus R.S. Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: Daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 4 (1981) 1-39
33. Kolditz T.A., and Arkin R.M. An impression management interpretation of the self-handicapping strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 43 (1982) 492-502
34. Leary M.R. The impact of interactional impediments on social anxiety and self-presentation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 22 (1986) 122-135
35. Mandel D.R. Judgment dissociation theory: An analysis of differences in causal, counterfactual, and covariational reasoning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 132 (2003) 419-434
36. Mandel D.R., and Lehman D.R. Counterfactual thinking and ascriptions of cause and preventability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 71 (1996) 450-463
37. Markman K.D., Gavanski I., Sherman S.J., and McMullen M.N. The mental simulation of better and worse possible worlds. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 29 (1993) 87-109
38. Markman K.D., Gavanski I., Sherman S.J., and McMullen M.N. The impact of perceived control on the imagination of better and worse possible worlds. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21 (1995) 588-595
39. Markman K.D., and McMullen M.N. A reflection and evaluation model of comparative thinking. Personality and Social Psychology Review 7 (2003) 244-267
40. Markman K.D., McMullen M.N., and Elizaga R.A. Counterfactual thinking, persistence, and performance: A test of the Reflection and Evaluation Model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44 (2008) 421-428
41. Markman K.D., and Tetlock P.E. Accountability and close-call counterfactuals: The loser who nearly won and the winner who nearly lost. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26 (2000) 1213-1224
42. Markman K.D., and Tetlock P.E. 'I couldn't have known': Accountability, foreseeability and counterfactual denials of responsibility. British Journal of Social Psychology 39 (2000) 313-325
43. McCrea S.M. Counterfactual thinking following negative outcomes: Evidence for group and self-protective biases. European Journal of Social Psychology 37 (2007) 1256-1271
44. McCrea S.M., and Hirt E.R. The role of ability judgments in self-handicapping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27 (2001) 1378-1389
45. McCrea, S. M., Hirt, E. R., Hendrix, K. S., Milner, B. J., & Steele, N. L. (in press). The Worker scale: Developing a measure to explain gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping. Journal of Research in Personality
46. McCrea S.M., Hirt E.R., and Milner B.J. She works hard for the money: Valuing effort underlies gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44 (2008) 292-311
47. McFarland C., and Ross M. Impact of causal attributions on affective reactions to success and failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 43 (1982) 937-946
48. McMullen M.N. Affective contrast and assimilation in counterfactual thinking. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 33 (1997) 77-100
49. McMullen M.N., and Markman K.D. Downward counterfactuals and motivation: The wake-up call and the Pangloss effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26 (2000) 575-584
50. McMullen M.N., and Markman K.D. Affective impact of close counterfactuals: Implications of possible futures for possible pasts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38 (2002) 64-70
51. Myers, A. L., & McCrea, S. M. (2008). The preparative function of counterfactual thinking: Providing useful strategies or enhancing motivation. Unpublished manuscript, University of Konstanz, Germany.
52. Niedenthal P.M., Tangney J.P., and Gavanski I. "If only I weren't" versus "If only I hadn't": Distinguishing shame and guilt in counterfactual thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67 (1994) 585-595
53. Oleson K.C., Poehlmann K.M., Yost J.H., Lynch M.E., and Arkin R.M. Subjective overachievement: Individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance. Journal of Personality 68 (2000) 491-524
54. Ouis D. Annoyance from road traffic noise: A review. Journal of Environmental Psychology 21 (2001) 101-120
55. Rhodewalt F. Self-handicappers: Individual differences in the preference for anticipatory, self-protective acts. In: Higgins R.L., Snyder C.R., and Berglas S. (Eds). Self-handicapping: The paradox that isn't. The Plenum series in social/clinical psychology (1990), Plenum, New York 69-106
56. Rhodewalt F., Morf C., Hazlett S., and Fairfield M. Self-handicapping: The role of discounting and augmentation in the preservation of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61 (1991) 122-131
57. Roese N.J. The functional basis of counterfactual thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66 (1994) 805-818
58. Roese N.J., Hur T., and Pennington G.L. Counterfactual thinking and regulatory focus: Implications for action versus inaction and sufficiency versus necessity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77 (1999) 1109-1120
59. Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. Self-esteem and counterfactual thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65 (1993) 199-206
60. Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. Counterfactual thinking: A critical overview. In: Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. (Eds). What might have been: The social psychology of counterfactual thinking (1995), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ 1-55
61. Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. Functions of counterfactual thinking. In: Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. (Eds). What might have been: The social psychology of counterfactual thinking (1995), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ 169-197
62. Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. Outcome controllability and counterfactual thinking. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21 (1995) 620-628
63. Rosenberg M. Society and adolescent self-image (1965), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
64. Rothbaum F., Weisz J.R., and Snyder S.S. Changing the world and changing the self: A two-process model of perceived control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42 (1982) 5-37
65. Sanna L.J., Carter S.E., and Small E.M. The road not taken: Counterfactual thinking over time. In: Sanna L.J., and Chang E.C. (Eds). Judgments over time: The interplay of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (2006), Oxford University Press, New York 163-181
66. Sanna L.J., Chang E.C., and Meier S. Counterfactual thinking and self-motives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27 (2001) 1023-1034
67. Sedikides C., and Strube M.J. Self-evaluation: To thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thy own self be better. In: Zanna M.P. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology 29 (1997), Academic Press, New York 209-269
68. Sevdalis N., and Kokkinaki F. The differential effect of realistic and unrealistic counterfactual thinking on regret. Acta Psychologica 122 (2006) 111-128
69. Shepperd J.A., and Arkin R.M. Determinants of self-handicapping: Task importance and the effects of preexisting handicaps on self-generated handicaps. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 15 (1989) 101-112
70. Shepperd J.A., and Arkin R.M. Self-handicapping: The moderating roles of public self-consciousness and task importance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 15 (1989) 252-265
71. Sherman D.K., and Cohen G.L. The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory. In: Zanna M.P. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology 38 (2006), Elsevier, San Diego, CA 183-242
72. Sherman S.J., and McConnell A.R. Dysfunctional implications of counterfactual thinking: When alternatives to reality fail us. In: Roese N.J., and Olson J.M. (Eds). What might have been: The social psychology of counterfactual thinking (1995), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ 199-231
73. Smith E.E. The power of dissonance techniques to change attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly 25 (1961) 626-639
74. Sorrentino R.M., and Hewitt E.C. The uncertainty-reducing properties of achievement tasks revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 47 (1984) 884-899
75. Tabachnik B.G., and Fidell L.S. Using multivariate statistics. 4th ed. (2001), HarperCollins, New York
76. Tal-Or N., Boninger D.S., and Gleicher F. On becoming what we might have been: Counterfactual thinking and self-efficacy. Self and Identity 3 (2004) 5-26
77. Thompson T. Re-examining the effects of noncontingent success on self-handicapping behaviour. British Journal of Educational Psychology 74 (2004) 239-260
78. Trope Y. Self-enhancement and self-assessment in achievement behavior. In: Sorrentino R.M., and Higgins E.T. (Eds). Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior (1986), Guilford Press, New York 350-378
79. Trope Y., Ferguson M., and Raghunathan R. Mood as a resource in processing self-relevant information (2001), Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ
80. Urdan T. Predictors of academic self-handicapping and achievement: Examining achievement goals, classroom goal structures, and culture. Journal of Educational Psychology 96 (2004) 251-264
81. Weiner B. An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review 92 (1985) 548-573
82. Wells G.L., and Gavanski I. Mental simulation of causality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 56 (1989) 161-169
83. Zuckerman M., Kieffer S.C., and Knee C.R. Consequences of self-handicapping: Effects on coping, academic performance, and adjustment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74 (1998) 1619-1628