New but not different

By Dr. Sohail Ansari

Conceived and worded by DR Sohail Ansari (originality of concepts and originality of words).

He believes that there can never be a zero scope for improvement and appreciates criticism if it is not for the sake of criticism.

·        If new dish can be enjoyed according to established expectations for satisfaction, it is either new but not different or different but not new. 

Self-handicapping 

Definition and Example

Self-handicapping is a cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem.

(Cognition

A perception, sensation, idea, or intuition resulting from the process of cognition.

Plural noun: cognitions

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

"a theory of human cognition"

Cognitive strategies are one type of learning strategy that learners use in order to learn more successfully. These include repetition, organising new language, summarising meaning, guessing meaning from context, using imagery for memorisation.)

Stephen is a first-generation college student who is used to excelling at things like school and sports with very little effort. Despite his usual success, Stephen has been having trouble keeping up in his chemistry class. He knows that the midterm exam in his chemistry course is worth 25% of his final grade and could boost his class average. Instead of studying the weekend before his exam, he decides to go on a ski trip with his friends.

Stephen receives a 'D' on his midterm exam, much to his dismay. He concludes that the reason he did so poorly on the exam is because he went on the ski trip and did not have time to study. Stephen's behavior is an example of self-handicapping.

Self-handicapping refers to actions or statements we make that allow us to avoid effort or responsibility for potential failures that could damage our self-esteem. It is much more embarrassing and harmful to our self-esteem to put forth effort and fail than it is to self-handicap and have excuses as to why we failed. When we self-handicap, our decisions and actions provide us with a way to internalize success while externalizing failure. In other words, self-handicapping lets us take the credit for our successes, while blaming other external factors for our failures.

Stephen hasn't had to put forth much effort in any of his academic endeavors, so when he came across a challenging course, it was much easier for him to self-handicap than it was to try, especially since he had not been doing well in the course to begin with. Stephen was easily able to explain this bad grade away by blaming it on his ski trip and lack of studying, which are external factors. However, if Stephen had done well on the midterm, he would have concluded that he has exceptional abilities in chemistry, which is an internal factor, because he was able to receive a high grade despite not studying and going on the trip. This would have boosted his self-esteem.

Self-Handicapping Strategies

Self-handicapping strategies can be classified as either behavioral or self-reported. Behavioral self-handicapping occurs when people actively engage in behaviors that will undermine their performance. Stephen's choice to go on a ski trip was an example of behavioral self-handicapping. Staying out late and drinking the night before a job interview is an example of behavioral self-handicapping. More examples include not putting much effort into writing a term paper, procrastinating, distracting yourself with non-essential activities, and taking drugs.

Abstract:
"Self-handicapping" has been described by Jones and Berglas (1978) as the creation of obstacles or disadvantages that make success on a task more difficult. They proposed that when faced with an important evaluation, many individuals create an impediment to performance to protect their self-esteem, rather than meeting the challenge of doing their best. The strategy is considered to be mostly unconscious, and it is typically operative when a person doubts his/her capabilities. For the sample used in the current study, self-handicapping was measured with the shortened Self-Handicapping Scale, which contains 14 items that measure tendencies to use self-handicapping strategies such as illness, procrastination, emotional upsets, and lack of effort. Self-handicapping was examined in relation to self-esteem, performance attributions, coping strategies, and the potential behavioral self-handicaps of reduced study hours and inefficient study habits. The data analysis found that girls scored significantly higher on the Self-Handicapping Scale and tended to use emotion-related and illness-related excuses significantly more often than boys. High self-handicapping scores independently predicted lower study hours for boys and were associated with less efficient study for girls. For boys, the coping and attributional predictors of self-handicapping were rumination, luck attribution, and poor active coping strategies; for girls, they were ability attributions, behavioral disengagement, instrumental support, and poor active coping strategies. This study concludes that the habitual use of a self-handicapping strategy when challenged to demonstrate ability places youth in a cycle of chronic underachievement, bringing lowered self-esteem and well-being with it. Self-focused rumination in particular is an emotion-focused strategy associated with dysphoria and depression. Suggestions are offered for interventions in school settings that can assist in countering self-handicapping attitudes and behaviors. 3 tables and 31 references
If after reading this post you realize that you don’t like it, I apologize. After all, I didn’t spend too much time on it. Maybe a few hours here and there. See, I was cramming so I didn’t give it my best. And that’s probably why the writing suffered. Oh, if only I had enough time I’m sure I would’ve done better. Also, I had a headache so that probably had a negative effect too. Does the above paragraph sound familiar? If it does, then we have something in common:  self-handicapping. It’s finding excuses and obstacles that explain why we’re not responsible for our mistakes, failures, or poor performance. Most of us start experiencing it as students during our first few years at school, but the habit also tends to stay with us even when we turn into capable professionals. An article from The New York Times cites a study where, in workplace scenarios, people’s “…impressions of a character began to sour after the second time the person cited a handicap.” To avoid self-handicapping at work, we need to recognize it when it occurs. Here are some behaviors associated with self-handicapping: Decreased effort. Sometimes, this comes in the form of procrastination, especially when you expect to be evaluated. Self-handicapping also shows when you spend less time preparing or practicing. Research shows that giving in to self-handicapping in one task may lead to having less motivation to complete a succeeding task, too. Setting unrealistic goals. Aiming high or having ambitions is a good thing, but it helps to be aware of your true motivations. Sometimes setting unattainable goals is a form of self-handicapping. Creating or emphasizing physical or psychological handicaps. We sometimes tell ourselves that we don’t have the right training, state of mind, experiences, and other traits that would make us perform well for a certain task. We make excuses — even flimsy ones — just so our mistakes will be the fault of some external force instead of our own. The bad news is that like most qualities deeply ingrained in us, there’s no magic pill, no one-size-fits-all cure for self-handicapping. But there are a couple of new mindsets that I’m trying out: Praise our own effort rather than talent. While it’s OK to recognize innate skills, acknowledging effort, practice and hard work as the source of your success has greater benefits. This kind of attitude leaves us less afraid of failure, more inclined to try again, and even to have better performance. Accepting pain as part of the job. Not physical pain, but the painful idea that you won’t always be as good as you want to be, that sometimes you’ll fail. Self-handicapping is all about protecting your self-image, so one way to “hack” it is to come to terms with the fact that failing is normal. It comes with being human. A few mistakes won’t make you less of a good worker or even a good person. It’s rare that you’ll fail hard enough that it’s irreparable or unforgivable. Do you experience self-handicapping or self-sabotage? How does it affect your work and how do you deal with it?