The Hindu Business Line : Do you self-handicap?

The CFA Level-I exam results were announced recently. A person whom I know claimed that she would have easily passed the exam but for lack of time! And before you scoff at the excuse, remember that all of us manufacture some defence after an unsuccessful venture. And some provide excuses even before they embark on the venture! Why? Behavioural psychologists call it self-handicapping. Suppose you have an important exam coming up in a week’s time. You think it would be shameful on your part to fail the exam. What do you do?

Self-handicapping…

If you are a typical person, you will start talking about how you have not had enough time to prepare for the exam. At the extreme, your body will unconsciously start troubling you; you may even be hospitalised for a day or two! This provides a foundation for a giant excuse — in case you fail.

Experiments have shown that people indeed regularly engage in such self-sabotage. The important point is that such self-sabotage is not to primarily lower others’ expectations; it is more to protect our self-image.

…leads to self-sabotaging

When you have all the time in the world to pass the exam, you cannot give an excuse as to why you failed. Besides, it is difficult to live with ourselves when we know that we did our best but failed than to say that we could have done better but for…

Self-handicapping, however, has a problem. In one experiment, participants were asked to take a test. Some were deliberately distracted during the test. Those who were distracted and failed were found to be less motivated to prepare for the subsequent exam. Why? These persons thought that they had done well and would have passed the test had it not been for the distracting noise.

Self-handicapping, thus, leads to self-sabotaging. As an experiment showed, students who are self-handicappers often rate themselves among the top 10 per cent in the class even though their grades are poor. So, if you are taking an exam but are suffering from self-handicapping, beware!

(The author is an investment strategist. blfeedback@thehindu.co.in)

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