Surveyed 656 fifth graders on their use of self-handicapping strategies and examined predictors of self-handicapping. Boys used handicapping more than girls did, and grade point average and perceived academic competence were negatively related to handicapping. Ability goal structure and teaching practices highlighting relative ability were…

By procrastinating, allowing others to keep them from studying, deliberately not trying, and using other "self-handicapping" strategies, students can convey that those circumstances, rather than lack of ability, are the reasons for subsequent poor performance. Survey data from 256 eighth-grade students indicated that boys use those strategies more…

The relation between learning environment (perceptions of classroom goal structure and teachers' instructional discourse) and students' reported use of avoidance strategies (self-handicapping, avoidance of help seeking) and preference to avoid novelty in mathematics was examined. High incidence of motivational support was uniquely characteristic…

Examined the relation between the nature of teacher discourse and sixth-grade students' reports of affect and behavior in mathematics classrooms students perceived as emphasizing both mastery and performance goals. Found that students in the classroom in which there was constant and explicit support for autonomy and intrinsic motivation, positive…