Fear of failure: Friend or foe?

AbstractFear of failure is examined from a need achievement perspective and in the context of research amongst high school and university students. Theory and data suggest that fear of failure can be separated into two camps: overstriving and self-protection. Although each has yields in terms of achievement or in terms of self-protection, they render the academic process an uncertain one for students marked by anxiety, low resilience, and vulnerability to learned helplessness. A cascading model of failure avoidance is developed that differentiates various aspects of fear of failure on the basis of a number of correlates and outcomes and provides direction for intervention. An alternative orientation — success orientation — is explored in detail as are four factors identified as the key means to promote success orientation. These factors are self-belief, control, learning focus, and value of school and ways to promote these in the educational and counselling context are discussed.