Why do people bother themselves with such defeatism? Remember how readily we rush to defend our own image when we attribute our failures to external circumstances. Can you understand why people, fearing failure, are nevertheless able to stop themselves from spending half the night on the eve of a job interview at a party or playing video games instead of studying for a difficult exam? If a person’s own image is closely related to the effectiveness of his actions, serious efforts that end in failure may be more traumatic for him than creating obstacles with his own hands and then explaining the reason for the failure. If we fail by interfering with ourselves in one way or another, we can continue to cling to a sense of our own competence, and if we succeed under these conditions, we will only grow in our own eyes. The obstacles we create for ourselves protect both our self-esteem and the opinion of others about us: they allow us to attribute our defeats to some temporary or external factors (“I didn’t feel well,” “I came home too late the day before”), rather than a lack of talent or abilities. The analysis of the phenomenon known as self-obstruction, made by Steven Berglas and Edward Jones (Berglas & Jones, 1978), was confirmed by the authors during a laboratory experiment, the purpose of which was designated for the subjects as “studying the effect of drugs on intelligence.” Imagine that you are students at Duke University participating in this experiment. After you have answered several difficult questions from the aptitude test, you are told: “So far, few people have achieved such brilliant results!” You can’t remember yourself from happiness, and before you continue testing, you are offered a choice of two “drugs”, one of which supposedly activates mental activity, and the other slows it down. Which one will you choose? Most of the subjects preferred the one that slows them down: in case they are not very successful with the questions, they will have a ready explanation. Researchers have proven the existence of other ways in which people create obstacles for themselves. People’s fear of failure manifests itself in different ways. They: — before important competitions, the intensity of training is reduced (we are talking about athletes engaged in individual sports) (Rhodewalt et al., 1984); — give an advantage to their opponent (Shepperd & Arkin, 1991); — complaining of depression (Baumgartdner, 1991); — they immediately begin to perform poorly on a task, so that others do not associate with them expectations that will not be fulfilled (Baumgardner & Brownlee, 1987); — when performing a difficult task that requires complete dedication, they do not give their best (Hormuth, 1986; Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1987; Riggs, 1992; Turner & Pratkanis, 1993). Being social animals, we relate our words and actions to the needs of others. We can say that we exercise self-control to a certain extent, monitor our behavior and regulate it in such a way as to make the impression we need on others. Various approaches to such impression management explain the origin of such manifestations of false modesty as self-deprecation, praising competitors, or publicly attributing to others the success that deep down a person considers his personal merit. To justify failure and protect their self-esteem, people sometimes even go so far as to create obstacles for themselves with their defeatist behavior. Knowing about self-efficacy inspires us to confront difficult situations, to persevere despite initial failures, and to not allow self-doubt to distract us from moving towards our intended goal. Developed self-esteem also performs an adaptive function. A person who believes in their positive abilities is less vulnerable to depression and has a higher chance of success. Knowing about unjustified optimism and other forms of self-predisposition reminds us that self-efficacy is only one side of what is called Self in the social world. If absolutely everything is subject to positive thinking, then a failed marriage, poverty or depression is solely our own fault. Be ashamed! If only we weren’t so lazy, undisciplined, and stupid! Not understanding that difficulties sometimes reflect the overwhelming pressure of social situations can push us not only to shift the blame for problems and difficulties onto those who experience them, but also to make similar accusations against ourselves. The greatest expectations generate not only the greatest achievements, but also the greatest disappointments. These two truths-about self-efficacy and self-predisposition-reminded me of what Pascal taught 300 years ago: “The world is complex, and therefore one truth is never enough. Any truth taken apart from the truth that complements it is just a half-truth.” Source: Myers D. “Social Psychology” Photo: vitalybaranetsky.com