خودناتوان ساز و مدل پنج عاملی شخصیتی: میانجیگری بین روان رنجوری و وجدان

The current study is an investigation of the relationship between self-handicapping and the Five Factor Model as measured by the NEO-PI-R [Costa, P. T. & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO-PI-R Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources]. In keeping with previous findings for the construct of procrastination, we found that self-handicapping was positively related to Neuroticism and negatively related to Conscientiousness. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that the facets of Depression, Self-Consciousness, Impulsiveness, and Vulnerability contributed unique variance to self-handicapping. Additionally, the Conscientiousness facets of Competence, Dutifulness, and Self-Discipline were most strongly related to dispositional self-handicapping. Finally, analyses using partial correlation indicated that the construct of self-handicapping mediates the negative relationship between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness reported in previous studies.

Jones and Berglas (1978) describe self-handicapping as a strategy to protect or enhance one's self-esteem in situations in which self-esteem may be threatened. Where one's feelings of self-worth could potentially be harmed, attributions of personal failure may be avoided by engaging in a number of activities, including drinking alcohol, failing to study or practice, and lack of sleep. These activities all represent viable means of self-handicapping. To further explain this phenomenon, Jones and Berglas (1978) suggest that self-handicapping is a way of reducing responsibility for one's performance in the eyes of the performer, as well as in the eyes of the audience. By engaging in activities that typically compromise one's ability, persons who self-handicap can plausibly attribute causes for failure to external factors (e.g. effort) rather than internal factors (e.g. ability; Hobden and Pliner, 1995 and Murray and Warden, 1992). Avoiding internal attributions for failure is especially important for self-handicappers as they believe that ability traits are more innately determined (Rhodewalt, 1994). Consequently, failure in the face of adequate effort likely damages self-handicappers' fragile sense of self-esteem.