Contingent Self-worth and Self-handicapping: Do Incremental Theorists Protect Self-esteem?

Abstract

Incremental theorists, who believe intelligence can improve, may be more resilient to failure than entity theorists, who believe intelligence is fixed. Three studies explored whether incremental theory reduces self-handicapping and self-esteem vulnerability in students who do and do not invest their self-worth in academics. In Studies 1 and 2, contingent incremental students self-handicapped by choosing to listen to performance-impairing music and by avoiding practice before a difficult task. In Study 3, contingent incremental students who could not self-handicap reported greater ability attributions and lower self-esteem following failure. These studies suggest that when self-worth is contingent on academics, incremental theorists remain concerned about their self-worth and self-handicap to protect their self-esteem from the ego-threat associated with failure.