Perfectionism and Self-Handicapping Behaviors of Gifted Students: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

The study addresses two issues, perfectionism and self-handicapping, which may threaten gifted students' academic achievement and self-esteem. While perfectionism refers to setting unreasonably high standards for one's own performance, self-handicapping is defined as creating impediments or obstacles to use as an excuse for poor performance. Although both perfectionist and selfhandicapping behaviors have some potential benefits for gifted students, they are mostly detrimental and can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and poor performance. This study aims to provide an overview of perfectionism and self-handicapping with a particular emphasis on how perfectionism may provoke self-handicapping behaviors among gifted students so that educators in gifted programs might become more aware of these behvaiors and their implications. The study also discusses some of the strategies that can be helpful to avoid these behaviors and their negative outcomes on gifted learners.

Self-Handicapping and its Relation to Self-Efficacy Among Yarmouk University Jordanian Students

“…The types of self-handicapping are classified into two categories: behavioral self-handicapping that refers to actual behavior, and self-reflexive handicapping that refers to non-verbal behavioral traits (Tadik, et al, 2017). Behavioral handicapping is more damaging because it gives less chances of success but at the same time is more persuasive than pretense (Sahrance, 2011).…”

“…Examples of self-behavioral handicapping are drug abuse, stress reduction and over-stress (Schwinger, et al, 2014). The self-reflexive handicapping reflects general anxiety, stress and moods from exams or health problems (Tadik, et al, 2017;Sahrance, 2011). Rhodewalt and Tragakis (2011) pointed out that one of the reasons for resorting to self-handicapping is the desire to protect one self and the public reputation and the belief of individuals that their ability is relatively consistent with the lack of self-confidence, which leads to self-handicapping.…”

النموذج السببي للعلاقة بين الشفقة بالذات والكمالية متعددة الأبعاد وقلق الاختبار لدى طلاب المرحلة الثانوية

“…Senyuva, et al,2013) ( [*. Ó ,-‫ا‬ AEû ´b‫و‬ ، ‫ات‬ " @ $ * .1 ZD kl$ L z# ‫ا‬ PeD †b " ‫و‬ †b + $ PeD ‫.د‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ح‬ # ‫ا+‬ kÑ ( Spagnoli et al,2017, Stoeber et al,2012, Tadik et al,2017…”

Gifted University Students: Development and Evaluation of a Counseling Program

“…This type of perfectionism can develop in gifted students because they are accustomed to achieving highly, and parents and other members of their community often have high expectations for them (Almukhambetova & Hernandez‐Torrano, 2020). Maladaptive perfectionism can lead to stress, avoidance behaviors, and fear of failure (Tadik et al, 2017). These effects can hamper gifted students’ adjustment to university and undermine their academic performance (Almukhambetova & Hernandez‐Torrano, 2020).…”