Characteristics of self‐worth protection in achievement behaviour

Two experiments are reported comprising an investigation of individual difference variables associated with self‐worth protection. This is a phenomenon whereby students in achievement situations adopt one of a number of strategies, including withdrawing effort, in order to avoid damage to self‐esteem which results from attributing failure to inability. Experiment 1 confirmed the adequacy of an operational definition which identified self‐worth students on the basis of two criteria. These were deteriorated performance following failure, together with subsequent enhanced performance following a face‐saving excuse allowing students to explain failure without implicating low ability. The results of Experiment 2 established that the behaviour of self‐worth protective students in achievement situations may be understood in terms of their low academic self‐esteem coupled with uncertainty about their level of global self‐esteem. Investigation of the manner in which self‐worth students explain success and failure outcomes failed to demonstrate a tendency to internalise failure but revealed a propensity on the part of these students to reject due credit for their successes. The implications of these findings in terms of the prevention and modification of self‐worth protective reactions in achievement situations are discussed.