Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
Published on: April 18, 2017
Effects of failure on subsequent performance: the importance of self-defining goals
J C Brunstein1, P M Gollwitzer
1Department of Psychology, University of Erlangen, Germany. brunstein@pc.psychologie.uni-erlangen.de
Abstract:
Extending R.A. Wicklund and P.M. Gollwitzer's (1982) self-completion theory, 2 experiments examined the role of self-defining goals in predicting performance effects of failure among students committed to professional goals such as becoming a physician (Experiment 1) or a computer scientist (Experiment 2). Results of Experiment 1 revealed that failure on a task characterized as being relevant to students' professional self-definition led to (a) enhanced performance on a subsequent task relevant to the same self-definition and (b) impaired performance on a subsequent task unrelated to the self-definition challenged through prior failure. Experiment 2 replicated these findings. In addition, performance effects due to self-definitional failure were annulled when participants experience intermittent social recognition for the aspired-to-self-definition.
More Related Videos
10:26Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
08:24The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Sources of Self-Esteem II: Performance Feedback
Benefits of Self-Esteem