Academic self-handicapping: relationships with learning specific and general self-perceptions and academic...

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Student Learning Behaviors

Background:

• Academic self-handicapping (ASH) strategies are linked to classroom dynamics and student self-perceptions.
• Greater ASH correlates with poorer academic performance but its impact across multiple assessments is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between students' ASH tendencies and their self-concept clarity.
• To examine the association of ASH with learning strategies and performance across a series of university course tests.

Main Methods:

• 209 Canadian university psychology students participated.
• Assessed ASH tendencies, self-concept clarity, learning strategies, expected grades, and study hours.
• Collected grades for three course tests.

Main Results:

• Higher ASH scores correlated with lower self-concept clarity, academic self-efficacy, and increased test anxiety.
• Students with greater ASH employed more superficial learning strategies and achieved lower scores on all tests.
• ASH's relationship with performance strengthened across successive tests, accounting for significant variance.

Conclusions:

• Academic self-handicapping is a distinct factor influencing student academic outcomes.
• The impact of ASH on performance may be more pronounced after initial course assessments.