An experimental investigation of claimed self-handicapping strategies across motivational climates based on achievement goal and self-determination theories

Achievement Goals, Fear of Failure and Self-Handicapping in Young Elite Athletes with and without Chronic Pain

“…Although the findings of the study are exploratory, it stresses the importance of a balanced set of goal orientation strategies in the support of young elite athletes. In line with the findings of Coudevylle and colleagues [ 57 ], it would be worthwhile to additionally consider self-determined goals in athletes with pain complaints, as these goals are more focused on needs and less on progress. As a consequence, these less threatening self-determined goals could decrease self-handicapping strategies and fear of failure [ 57 ].…”

“…Focusing on mastery goals implies focusing on one’s progress and is typically found less threatening. However, a recent study of Coudevylle and colleagues [ 57 ] in college students showed that focusing on mastery goals does not remove the threat to one’s self-image, as there is still a fear of regressing. For young elite athlete with chronic pain, focusing on progress may also be highly threatening, since chances are high that they will perform worse than previously, as a consequence of their pain.…”

Students’ motivation in secondary and post-secondary education

“…Two other articles in this issue investigate problems surrounding self-handicapping and other deceptive student behaviours. Coudevylle et al (2020) investigated the effect of experimentally manipulated performance, mastery, and need-supportive motivational climates on perceived competence and claimed self-handicapping strategies in physical education. An example of claimed self-handicapping is reporting an injury in physical education before performing an activity to protect or reward one's self-image (Hirt et al, 1991).…”

“…An example of claimed self-handicapping is reporting an injury in physical education before performing an activity to protect or reward one's self-image (Hirt et al, 1991). Coudevylle et al (2020) showed that students claimed fewer handicaps in the need-supportive relative to the performance motivational climate, indicating that supporting students' need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness is beneficial in preventing self-reported self-handicapping.…”

“…A theme that runs through all the studies is the importance of considering the context in which psychological aspects surrounding students' motivation takes place. This context could refer to the country or school system in which the study was conducted (Diseth et al, 2020;Niehues et al, 2020;Van der Veen & Peetsma, 2020), the timing of the measurements (Duchesne & Ratelle, 2020;Van der Veen & Peetsma, 2020), or the motivational climate, messages, or incentives students received (Boskovic, 2020;Coudevylle et al, 2020;Mo e & Putwain, 2020). My sincere gratitude goes out to the many volunteer reviewers and the team of Educational Psychology for their time and expertise to strengthen the quality of the articles.…”