When we were talking about Self-Handicapping in class, I was reminded of an old teammate of mine from my high school golf team. She constantly used the Self-Handicapping strategy, which is the idea that people take actions to handicap their own performance, allowing them to have a built-in excuse for their failures and making them look really good in the unlikely event of success (Berglas & Jones, 1978). There are two kinds of Self-Handicapping--"feigned", which is an abstract, imagined excuse for failure (e.g.-falsely claiming to not have studied for a test), and "Behavioral", which are the actual obstacles that people put in their own way that they can use as an excuse (e.g.-drinking the night before a test).
OK, back to my old teammate. We'll call her "Ashley". Ashley was a decent golfer...she was never the best, but she could definitely play well enough to beat a lot of our competitors. But, if you ask her, she never played to her full potential in high school--not even once! She was constantly complaining about either being sick or having back problems (or both). I don't think there was one tournament when she did not have something "wrong" with her that impacted her golf game. To make matters worse, she had one of those Dads who lives vicariously through his kids, so he always completely bought her excuses and egged her on. Thanks to her Dad's encouragement, she sincerely believed that she could play Varsity Golf at UT (which you have to be amazing to be able to do). She ended up playing at a junior college, but I am sure she would be at UT if she hadn't been sick all the time ;) It was a team joke that nobody should ask her how she is doing unless they have a couple hours to spare, because Ashley will take anyone who asks through all of her illnesses and back problems that impede on her golf game. If only she could get her back fixed, I am sure we would have the next Michelle Wie on our hands.............
Berglas, S., & Jones, E. E. (1978). Drug choice as a self-handicapping strategy in response to noncontingent success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 405-417.
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ReplyDeletehaha thats a great comic
ReplyDelete(I agree with Lauren, great comic :)
ReplyDeleteReading your blog and reflecting on athletes that I know and athletic games I’ve played really highlights self-handicapping in sports. I played a bit of basketball in high school (and was by no means an all-star. . .) but had some decent defensive skills. When I pick up a ball these days or play intramural basketball, I either do not mention that I’ve played,or talk about how long its been since I’ve touched a ball (I mean its true. . .) If you read these last couple of sentences, you’ll notice my need to self-handicap to “protect” myself from sucking when (if ever) I throw a ball around with any of y’all :) dear social psychology, thank you allowing me to recognize and fall victim to social theories!