SELF-HANDICAPPING by Raymond L. Higgins, Steven Berglas, C. R. Snyder ( 9780306435409 )

Item Details

Title:

SELF-HANDICAPPING
THE PARADOX THAT ISN'T

By:

Raymond L. Higgins, Steven Berglas, C. R. Snyder

Format:

Hardback

List price:	£129.99
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ISBN 10:

0306435403

ISBN 13:

9780306435409

Publisher:

SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA

Pub. date:

30 June, 1990

Edition:

1990 ed.

Series:

The Springer Series in Social Clinical Psychology

Pages:

292

Description:

The concept of self-handicapping can be legitimately anchored in a vari- ety of intellectual contexts, some old and some newer. " More recently (but still more than 30 years ago), Heider's "naive psychology" added attributional rhetoric to the description of self-defeat- ing strategies.

Synopsis:

The concept of self-handicapping can be legitimately anchored in a vari- ety of intellectual contexts, some old and some newer. As this volume reminds us, Alfred Adler was perhaps the first to articulate the signifi- cance of various self-defeating claims and gestures for protecting the self- concept. Thus the apparent paradox of "defeat" in the interests of "pro- tection. " More recently (but still more than 30 years ago), Heider's "naive psychology" added attributional rhetoric to the description of self-defeat- ing strategies. While predominantly cognitive in its thrust, the attribu- tional approach incorporated several motivational influences-especially those involving egocentric concerns. Heider hardly violated our common sense when he suggested that people are inclined to attribute their performances in a self-serving manner: the good things I caused; the bad things were forced upon me. The notion of self-handicapping strategies, proposed by Berglas and myself a little more than a decade ago, capitalized on these homely truths while adding a particular proactive twist. We not only make ex- cuses for our blunders; we plan our engagements and our situational choices so that self-protective excuses are unnecessary. In doing so, we use our attributional understanding to arrange things so that flawed and failing performances will not be interpreted in ways that threaten our self-esteem.

Illustrations:

XX, 292 p.

Publication:

Imprint:

Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

Returns:

Returnable

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