Subjective overachievement: individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance

Could directly shifting self-doubt mind-set reduce the negative effects of chronic self-doubt?

Research has shown negative effects of chronic self-doubt on psychological and performance outcomes. Two experiments were conducted to examine (a) the malleability of the mind-set about self-doubt; and (b) whether shifting to a more positive mind-set reduces the negative effects of self-doubt. Participants in Experiment 1 were randomly assigned to one of two mind-set induction conditions (positive versus negative). A control group was added in Experiment 2, in which we also enhanced the strength and symmetry of the positive and negative mind-set inductions. The results from both experiments showed a significant change in self-doubt mind-set in the hypothesized direction as a result of the mind-set induction. Interestingly, Experiment 2 revealed that priming either positive or negative mind-set diminished the negative self-doubt effects on task engagement, relative to the control group. The findings for the negative mind-set group were counter to the hypothesis but replicated what was observed in Experiment 1.

Self-doubt in Nursing Students: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis

Self-doubt may negatively affect the development of prelicensure nursing students as they prepare to become practice-ready members of the workforce. Walker and Avant's method of analysis was used to explore generalized self-doubt as well as within the context of a contemporary nursing education framework: Aller's Development of Decision-Making and Self-Efficacy Model (ADD-SEM). Results indicate that several attributes of generalized self-doubt, as a form of low psychological capital, were consistent with this construct of the ADD-SEM and should be considered as nurse educators strive to ensure new nurses are prepared for the complexity of today's health care systems.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me that I have succeeded at it all: Self-esteem and the defensive mechanisms against failure

Students face frequent formal and informal tests, both in the academic context and social life. On each of these occasions, they risk falling short of their own or others’ expectations. Facing failure is a psychological challenge, and people can react with defensive strategies, which may have negative consequences. Here we investigated the role of self-esteem as a possible buffer against these defensive strategies. Previous research has demonstrated that, in the face of failure, individuals with discrepant (fragile: high explicit and low implicit, or damaged: high implicit and low explicit) self-esteem are more likely to engage in defensive mechanisms than individuals with consistent implicit and explicit self-esteem. Two studies investigate the relationship between implicit and explicit self-esteem and two defensive strategies against the threat of failure: subjective overachievement and retroactive excuses. In Study 1 (N = 176 high school students), we find an association between fragile self-esteem and subjective overachievement. In Study 2 (N = 101 university students), damaged self-esteem is related to the increased use of retroactive excuses as a form of self-serving bias. These results add to the growing body of evidence documenting the maladaptive nature of fragile and damaged self-esteem.

How Do Failed Entrepreneurs Cope with Their Prior Failure When They Seek Subsequent Re-Entry into Serial Entrepreneurship? Failed Entrepreneurs' Optimism and Defensive Pessimism and Coping Humor as a Moderator

Entrepreneurial failure is prevalent, and particularly when the COVID-19 crisis exacerbates the economic recession, it becomes even more prevalent. Entrepreneurs experience an intensive emotional crisis when their ventures fail, and this deleterious impact, including stress and emotional pain, may prevent failed entrepreneurs (FEs) from restarting; hence, how they cope with failure has received increased attention in recent years. However, most of the extant literature focuses on success rather than failure, and there is very limited literature on how FEs cope with the psychological and emotional crisis caused by failure. This study focuses on FEs' use of optimism and defensive pessimism as coping strategies within the mental simulation theory with respect to their re-entry intentions. It examines the impact of career ambition and public self-awareness on optimism, of the fear of failure (FoF) and self-doubt, on defensive pessimism, and of coping humor as a moderator. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the data of 277 Korean FEs who have actual entrepreneurial failure experiences and actively prepared for their re-entry. The results show that career ambitions and public self-awareness have an impact on optimism, and FoF and self-doubt lead to defensive pessimism. Coping humor also has a moderating effect on the path from defensive pessimism to the intention to re-enter. This study advances the literature on coping mechanisms that FEs employ to manage the negative impact of failure and prepare for their subsequent re-entry. Its theoretical model, based on the mental simulation theory combined with social comparison theory, provides a possible integrative framework that includes both the pervasively held view of entrepreneurs' optimism related to overconfidence and their defensive pessimism related to their vulnerability due to their ventures' failure. Thus, this study makes theoretical contributions to the literature of entrepreneurial failure, as well as practical implications for policymakers and educators who assist FEs in successfully coping with entrepreneurial failure and re-entry.

The Relationship between Self-Confidence, Self-Efficacy, Grit, Usefulness, and Ease of Use of eLearning Platforms in Corporate Training during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This exploratory study contributes to the understanding of self-confidence as a predictor of self-efficacy, ease of use, and usefulness of eLearning platforms in corporate training. The present research explored the relationship among the employees’ beliefs regarding self-confidence, grit, ease of use, self-efficacy, and usefulness of eLearning platforms in their workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 307 responses from Romanian employees who used eLearning platforms in corporate training (females = 60.3%, males = 39.7%, age range of less than 24 years (12.1%) to over 55 years (6.2%)) were exploited for research. Data were analyzed through a path analysis model. Results indicate that grit (i.e., consistency of interest), self-efficacy, and perceived ease of use of eLearning platforms were considerably directly influenced by the self-confidence variable. Usefulness was directly influenced by the ease of use and was indirectly influenced by self-confidence. Mediation analysis indicated that full mediation occurs only through the ease of use of eLearning platforms variable in the relationship between self-confidence and usefulness. A unit increase in self-confidence will increase the expected value of grit by 0.54 units (t = 8.39, p < 0.001), will indirectly increase the expected value of usefulness through ease of use by 0.15 units (t = 2.39, p = 0.017), and will increase the expected value of self-efficacy by 0.53 units (t = 6.26, p < 0.001). In addition, perceived ease of use of eLearning platforms in corporate training fully mediated the relationship of usefulness regressed on self-confidence (β = 0.20, t = 2.51, p = 0.012). These novel results reveal the contributions of self-confidence, consistency of interest as a grit dimension, and ease of use of eLearning platforms in predicting lifelong learning solutions, which improve business outcomes. The related investigation and consequences were further considered.

The personality basis of justice: The five‐factor model as an integrative model of personality and procedural fairness effects on cooperation

Building upon the self‐based model of cooperation (De Cremer & Tyler, 2005), the present study investigates the relationship between the five‐factor model (FFM) and cooperation. Study 1 (N = 56), an experiment conducted in the laboratory, and Study 2 (N = 116), a field study conducted in an organisational context, yielded a moderator effect between neuroticism and procedural fairness in explaining cooperation. Study 3 (N = 177) showed that this moderator effect was mediated by the self‐uncertainty and relational variables proposed by the self‐based model of cooperation. It is concluded that the FFM is useful in explaining cooperation and contributes to a better understanding of (procedural) fairness effects. Moreover, the necessity to build integrative, multi‐level models that combine core and surface aspects of personality to explain the effects of fairness on cooperation is elaborated upon. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Self-Efficacy for Physical Activity-A Question of Item Framing and Age?

Older adults process and remember positive information relatively better than negative information, compared with younger adults; this is known as the positivity effect. This study examined whether older adults compared with younger adults also respond differently to positively and negatively framed questionnaire items. Participants (N = 275; age = 18-81 years) were randomly assigned to a positively or negatively framed version of a self-efficacy for physical activity questionnaire. Self-efficacy, physical activity intentions, and planned physical activity in the following week were regressed on experimental group and age, controlling for baseline physical activity and covariates. A significant Age × Frame interaction showed that item framing made a difference in planned physical activity for the oldest age group (+350 min compared with the youngest group). This study provides initial support for the positivity effect in item framing on physical activity plans, but not on intentions or self-efficacy. Item framing should be taken into consideration for accurate measurement, but could also be a simple intervention approach.

Individual Differences in Attitude Consistency Over Time: The Personal Attitude Stability Scale

This research finds evidence for reliable individual differences in people’s perceived attitude stability that predict the actual stability of their attitudes over time. Study 1 examines the reliability and factor structure of an 11-item Personal Attitude Stability Scale (PASS). Study 2 establishes test–retest reliability for the PASS over a 5-week period. Studies 3a and 3b demonstrate the convergent and discriminant validity of the PASS in relation to relevant existing individual differences. Studies 4 and 5 show that the PASS predicts attitude stability following a delay period across several distinct topics. Across multiple attitude objects, for people with high (vs. low) scores on the PASS, Time 1 attitudes were more predictive of their Time 2 attitudes, indicative of greater attitudinal consistency over time. The final study also demonstrates that the PASS predicts attitude stability above and beyond other related scales.

Self-Doubt Effects Depend on Beliefs about Ability: Experimental Evidence

Past research has shown negative effects of chronic self-doubt on psychological and performance outcomes. Recent correlational evidence suggests that incremental beliefs about ability ameliorate certain self-doubt effects. The current research examines whether these correlational findings are robust when subjected to experimental testing. In Experiment 1, we manipulated beliefs about ability (incremental vs. entity) and demonstrated that changing beliefs about ability altered responses to self-doubt. For individuals primed with entity beliefs, higher self-doubt was associated with greater nervousness and poorer anagram performance; for individuals primed with incremental beliefs, self-doubt had no significant effects. Experiment 2 was a 2 (manipulated belief: incremental vs. entity) × 2 (self-doubt: doubt induction vs. control) factorial design. The result showed that self-doubt induction lowered self-esteem relative to control when people were primed with entity beliefs but did not affect self-esteem when incremental beliefs were primed. However, Experiment 1 results on affect and performance were not replicated in Experiment 2. Thus, although we provide some causal evidence that inducing individuals to adopt an ability-is-malleable mindset reduces the negative effects of self-doubt, further experimental work is required to study the moderating role of mindsets for self-doubt effects.

The Role of Career Aspiration, Self-Esteem, Body Esteem, and Gender in Predicting Sense of Well-being Among Emerging Adults

During emerging adulthood, one's sense of well-being undergoes many rapid changes. Although emerging adults often present considerable energy, creativity, and hopefulness, both in higher education classrooms and workplaces, they often experience a decrease in well-being due to experience confusion, stress encounters, and difficulties in transitioning to adulthood. The authors examined four noteworthy key socioemotional factors that may be linked to emerging adults' sense of well-being: career aspiration, self-esteem, body esteem, and gender. Three hundred 20- to 29-year-old university students participated in the study. Results showed that well-being was correlated positively with self-esteem and body esteem, and body esteem was correlated negatively with gender (men scored higher). Regression analyses revealed that for both men and women, self-esteem and body esteem predicted well-being. Nevertheless, when the gender was analyzed separately, career aspiration predicted well-being only for men, whereas body esteem predicted well-being only for women. The study findings illuminates the importance of generating preventive measures in childhood and adolescence, through reinforcing skills such as resilience and self-esteem with the aim of passing through emerging adulthood with as little harm as possible to the sense of well-being.

Cultural differences in attitude toward and effects of self-doubt

It has been argued that the high achievement of Confucian Asian students is at the cost of their psychological well-being, since high self-doubt consistently accompanies their high achievement. However, other researchers cautioned that the attitude toward self-doubt could be different in Asian versus Western cultures. This study examined the debate with a survey of both American and Chinese college students that measured level of self-doubt, attitude toward self-doubt, beliefs about ability, and psychological well-being outcomes. As hypothesized, Chinese students showed a more positive attitude toward self-doubt than American students, despite having higher level of self-doubt. Furthermore, self-doubt engendered less negative consequences on Chinese students' psychological well-being, relative to American students. Implications for theories and research on cultural differences in the effects of self-constructs are discussed.

Subjective Overachievement in American and Chinese College Students

Research on American students has indicated that a subjective overachiever strives to attain outstanding performance but is also chronically plagued by self-doubt. The present investigation compared Chinese college students in Hong Kong and Singapore to their Caucasian American counterparts in an attempt to examine the similarities and differences in subjective overachievement across cultures. Results supported the relevance of the subjective achievement experience in different cultures but also revealed important differences. Compared to American participants, Chinese participants showed more ambivalence about the benefits of failure, and they manifested higher levels of self-doubt as well as the tendency to discount ability under conditions of effort exertion. These cross-cultural differences persisted after controlling for individual differences in self-construals.

Self-Esteem and Affect as Information

This research tests whether people with high self-esteem are more informed by their emotions than are people with low self-esteem. In Study 1, participants listened to a series of disturbing baby cries, rated how much distress these cries conveyed, and reported their own emotional reactions to the cries. As predicted, the relation between participants’ emotional reactions and their cry ratings was strongest at higher levels of self-esteem. In Study 2, self-esteem again determined how strongly participants’ own emotional reactions influenced their baby cry ratings, even though esteem was measured weeks before the experiment and even after controlling for social desirability. Study 3 manipulated self-regard and showed that the correlation between participants’ emotional reactions and their cry ratings was strong for high-regard participants, moderate for control participants, and weak for low-regard participants. These results suggest that self-esteem serves to validate the informational value of feelings.

Self-Doubt and Self-Esteem: A Threat from within

The impact on self-esteem of activating self-doubt was investigated in three studies. Individuals with enduring high self-doubt were expected to be more threatened by an experimental induction of self-doubt (modeled on the ease of retrieval paradigm) than individuals low in enduring self-doubt, and their self-esteem was predicted to decline. The predictions were supported when self-esteem was measured postexperimentally (Experiment 1) and when it was measured both pre- and postexperimentally (Experiment 2). There was no comparable loss in self-esteem for individuals low in self-doubt. A third experiment explored the phenomenology of low-self-doubt individuals and replicated the finding that their level of self-esteem was unaffected by the induction designed to produce doubt.

Exploring consumer doubt towards local new products innovation and purchase intention

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale to find the relationship between consumer doubt, skepticism, familiarity, information seeking, value for money and aesthetic design with customers’ purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study focussed on students of Malaysian university of multimedia in Melaka campus and used questionnaires to obtain the relevant data. Convenience random sampling method is used whereby 200 questionnaires were distributed among the target population and exactly 200 completed answers were collected.

Findings

– The survey results show that aesthetic design and information seeking of a product has a positive significant relationship with customers’ purchase intention. Respondents reported a consideration on these two factors and it is revealed that the scale used in this study is reliable and valid kind of measurement to assess customers’ purchase intention.

Practical implications

– To minimize the innovating failure among launched new innovative products, managers and decision makers should focus on variables used in this study. By focussing on aesthetic design and information seeking they can overcome some of the problems cause failure.

Originality/value

– This research focus on customers’ purchase intention to buy a Malaysian-made innovative new product and their lack of confidence and trust if the product satisfy their needs. The scale in this study show that this research is valid and it gives new perception toward purchase intention and innovation.

Beyond cause to consequence: The road from possible to core self-revision

Two studies addressed the ultimate consequences and pathways running from repeated possible self-revisions to gradual revisions in core selves over time. As hypothesized, greater prior experiences of downward possible self-revision ultimately predicted greater subsequent declines in core self-integrity (e.g., greater self-doubt, lower self-esteem). However, also as hypothesized, this effect was mediated by the relative use of defensive vs. remedial attributions for past downward self-revision experiences. In closing, we unpack how the present work extends prior work by situating possible selves and motivated self-attributions as complementary systems that can slowly undermine as well as expand the integrity of core selves over time.

When Trying Hard Isn’t Natural

Feeling like one exerts more effort than others may influence women’s feelings of belonging with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and impede their motivation. In Study 1, women STEM graduate students perceived they exerted more effort than peers to succeed. For women, but not men, this effort expenditure perception predicted a decreased sense of belonging, which in turn decreased motivation. Study 2 tested whether the male-dominated status of a field triggers such effort expectations. We created a fictional “eco-psychology” graduate program, which when depicted as male-dominated resulted in women expecting to exert relatively more effort and decreased their interest in pursuing the field. Study 3 found emphasizing effort as expected (and normal) to achieve success elevated women’s feelings of belonging and future motivation. Results suggest effort expenditure perceptions are an indicator women use to assess their fit in STEM. Implications for enhancing women’s participation in STEM are discussed.

Low trait self-control predicts self-handicapping

Past research has shown that self-handicapping stems from uncertainty about one's ability and self-presentational concerns. The present studies suggest that low dispositional self-control is also associated with self-handicapping. In 3 studies (N = 289), the association between self-control and self-handicapping was tested. Self-control was operationalized as trait self-control, whereas self-handicapping was operationalized as trait self-handicapping in Study 1 (N = 160), self-reported self-handicapping in Study 2 (N = 74), and behavioral self-handicapping in Study 3 (N = 55). In all 3 studies, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that low self-control predicts self-handicapping, independent of self-esteem, self-doubt, social desirability, and gender.

Possible Selves and Self-Doubt

Three studies tested whether self-doubt stems more from the absence of a strong desired self or the presence of a strong undesired self. Across studies, participants completed individual difference measures and then imagined a desired, neutral, or undesired possible self and completed strength measures for the imagined possible self. As predicted, compared to low self-doubt participants, high self-doubt participants reported less confidence in imagined desired selves and were slower to respond to desired self-consistent terms; however, they did not differ on explicit (confidence) or implicit (response speed) strength measures for imagined neutral or undesired selves. Moreover, the weaker desired selves imagined by high self-doubt participants predicted lower performance (compared to low self-doubt participants) on a final achievement test. Finally, the interactive effect of self-doubt and imagery on performance held after controlling for self-esteem and self-concept clarity but, consistent with predictions, was mediated by strength of the possible self.

The why's the limit: curtailing self-enhancement with explanatory introspection

Self-enhancement is linked to psychological gains (e.g., subjective well-being, persistence in adversity) but also to intrapersonal and interpersonal costs (e.g., excessive risk taking, antisocial behavior). Thus, constraints on self-enhancement may sometimes afford intrapersonal and interpersonal advantages. We tested whether explanatory introspection (i.e., generating reasons for why one might or might not possess personality traits) constitutes one such constraint. Experiment 1 demonstrated that explanatory introspection curtails self-enhancement. Experiment 2 clarified that the underlying mechanism must (a) involve explanatory questioning rather than descriptive imagining, (b) invoke the self rather than another person, and (c) feature written expression rather than unaided contemplation. Finally, Experiment 3 obtained evidence that an increase in uncertainty about oneself mediates the effect.