We use new individual-level data from MasterChef, a television show in the United States in order to objectively capture situations of fear of failure. We codify situations in which the contestants are on the verge of being eliminated from competition and situations where they explicitly express fear of failing. These new data have the distinct advantage of being purely objective. We cover ten seasons, from 2010 to 2020 and include nearly 200 observations to study the role of fear of failure on performance. Using ordinary least squares, we show that extreme fear of failure is associated with an increase of two to four positions in the final placement of the cooking competition. This positive link between fear of failure and performance tends to contradict the conventional wisdom in both psychology and behavioral economics that such a link tends to be negative.Our findings are robust to broad changes in specification. | INTRODUCTIONFear of failure is a rather powerful human emotion. It can be highly disruptive, erode performance, provoke individuals to self-sabotage themselves to avoid confronting it as well as produce a sense of frustration, helplessness and in particular shame, as it touches on the core of an individual's self-esteem (American Psychological Association, 2007;Conroy et al., 2002;Tasouides, 2015). 1 Interestingly, fear of failure is rather common and widespread in societies. In the United States, for instance, it has been estimated that around 30 % of the population is terrified of failure, and it ranks among the worst fears that the population endure in this country. 2 Similarly, it has been shown that in many countries a significant share of adults indicate that fear of failure prevents them from setting up a business, ranging 1 Fear of failure is defined as the behavioral reaction to the consequences anticipated for failing to achieve objectives set by oneself or others. It is distinct from loss aversion, which refers to the fact that individuals may experience losses asymmetrically more severely than equivalent gains (American Psychological Association, 2007;Kahneman & Tversky, 1979). In its clinical form, fear of failure is called "atychiphobia", an abnormal, irrational, and persistent fear of failure. (https://sites.psu.edu/akb13/tag/atychiphobia/) 2 https://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-scared-20151031-story.html
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