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psychology
You create your own barriers to protect your pride.
Self-handicapping is the psychological strategy of placing obstacles in your own path to provide an excuse for future failure.
By staying up late or not preparing for a task, you ensure that if you fail, you have a ready-made external reason. If you succeed despite the obstacle, your achievement appears even more impressive to others and yourself.
You would rather fail by your own hand than by your limitations.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Berglas & Jones, 1978
- What the check found
- The definition aligns with the psychological consensus established by the cited authors, though the specific sentence provided is not a direct quote from the 1978 publication.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.