Identifying Themes of Self-Handicapping versus Managerial Empowerment at a University of Medical Sciences

Subject Areas : human resource management

amin marashi far ¹ , Masha Allah Valikhani ^{2 *} , Alireza Shirvani ³

1 - PhD Student in Comparative and Development Management, Deh.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan,Iran
2 - .Department of Management, ST.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Department of Management, Deh.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.

Received: 2025-07-12 Accepted : 2025-08-25 Published : 2025-11-06

Keywords: self-handicapping, empowerment, managers, University of Medical Sciences,

Abstract :

Background and purpose: Self-disabling transpires in circumstances where an individual's capabilities are at risk. As a form of avoidance behavior, self-disabling results in a decline and deterioration of performance. To remain competitive within a dynamic environment, organizations are compelled to foster the empowerment of their managerial staff. The objective of this study is to identify themes associated with self-disabling and the empowerment of managers within the context of the University of Medical Sciences.

Research method: The methodology employed in this study is thematic analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which were subsequently analyzed utilizing open and axial coding techniques. The research population comprised fifteen experts—including managers, employees, elites, and qualified specialists affiliated with Iranian government organizations—until data saturation was achieved.

Findings: Self-disabling, as the overarching theme, encompassed five thematic categories of self-disabling drivers: individual self-disabling, self-disabling contexts, self-disabling consequences, and self-disabling barriers. These categories comprised a total of twenty-three organizing themes, which, in turn, encompassed one hundred seventy-three components structured as fundamental themes.

Conclusion: The factors contributing to self-handicapping, and its contextual influences, impede individual performance. Conversely, facilitating factors such as social skills can enhance self-efficacy. The repercussions of this phenomenon include diminished mental health and a decline in service quality. To foster the empowerment, proactive measures should be undertaken to mitigate self-handicapping behaviors.

References:

Abacı, R., & Akın, A. (2011). Kendini sabotaj: İnsanoğlunun sınırlı doğasının bir sonucu. Ankara: Pegem Yayınları. https://www.pegem.net/urun/Kendini-Sabotaj/6962
Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2016). Introduction to the psychology of self-esteem. In F. Holloway (Ed.), Self-Esteem: Perspectives, Influences and Improvement Strategies (pp. 1–23). Nova Science Publishers. Link https://novapublishers.com/shop/self-esteem-perspectives-influences-and-improvement-strategies/
Aghababaei, R. (2023). The effect of self-leadership strategies on the formation of career reinvention: The mediating role of leader empowering behaviors and career independence. Psychological Research in Management, 10(1), 93–115. [In Persian]. https://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/2106654
Ahmet, Y., Bahadir, Z., & Erdogan, C. H. (2021). An investigation on self-handicapping levels of sport management students. Journal of Education and Learning, 10(2), 152–160. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v10n2p152
Bae, J., Yoo, H. S., & Lee, J. (2022). Identifying latent classes of self-esteem level, self-esteem stability, and internalized shame among Korean college students: Relations to self-handicapping behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 194, 111634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111634
Chen, Z., Sun, K., & Wang, K. (2018). Self-esteem, achievement goals, and self-handicapping in college physical education. Psychological Reports, 121(4), 690–704. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117735333
Coudevylle, G. R., Ginis, K. A. M., Famose, J. P., & Gernigon, C. (2008). Effects of self-handicapping strategies on anxiety before athletic performance. The Sport Psychologist, 22(3), 304–315. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.22.3.304
Coudevylle, G. R., Boulley-Escriva, G., Finez, L., Eugène, K., & Robin, N. (2020). An experimental investigation of claimed self-handicapping strategies across motivational climates based on achievement goal and self-determination theories. Educational Psychology, 40(8), 1002–1021. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2020.1746237
Coudevylle, G. R., Sinnapah, S., Charles-Charlery, C., Baillot, M., & Hue, O. (2015). Impact of motivational climates on claimed self-handicapping strategies: Illustration in tropical environment. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 27(4), 384–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2015.1014975
Fallahieh, S., Omidi, M., Moradzadeh, Z., & Naderi, N. (2014). The mediating role of academic perseverance in the relationship between implicit beliefs of intelligence and academic engagement with self-defeating academic behaviors. New Advances in Behavioral Sciences, 7(55), 566–578 [In Persian]. https://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/779388
Ferradas, M. M., Freire, C., Rodríguez, S., & Piñeiro, I. (2018). Self-handicapping and self-esteem profiles and their relation to achievement goals. Annals of Psychology, 34(3), 545–554. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.34.3.319781
Gupta, S. (2020). Academic self-handicapping scale: Development and validation in Indian context. International Journal of Instruction, 13(4), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.1346a
Hobden, K., & Pliner, P. (1995). Effects of a model on food neophobia in humans. Appetite, 25(2), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.1995.0046
Hosseinian, S., Niknam, M., & Mandana, M. (2010). The effect of cognitive-behavioral training on self-handicapping and self-efficacy of female athletes. Motor Behavior, 7(2), 63–78 [In Persian]. https://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/872558
Izadpanah, S., & Charmi, M. (2022). The effect of social networks on academic self-handicapping with the mediating role of self-regulatory learning strategies and academic achievement among EFL students. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 987381. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.987381
Jia, J., Lin, X. H., Zhang, B., & Jiang, Q. (2021). Self-handicapping in Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of academic anxiety, procrastination and hardiness. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 741821. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741821
Jiang, Y., & Kleitman, S. (2015). Metacognitive beliefs and motivation: Links between confidence, self-protection, academic self-handicapping and self-enhancement. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 222–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.11.025
Kamuk, Y. U. (2022). Self-handicapping and its value in sports. Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise, 24(2), 208–218. https://doi.org/10.1528/tsed.2022.24.2.208
Kearns, H., Forbes, A., & Gardiner, M. (2007). A cognitive behavioural coaching intervention for the treatment of perfectionism and self-handicapping in a nonclinical population. Behaviour Change, 24(3), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1375/bech.24.3.157
Khalili Moghaddam, S. (2023). Investigating the relationship between attribution style and academic self-handicapping and academic self-efficacy with the mediating role of cognitive regulation https://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/2115781
Körükçü, Ö., Gündoğan, A., & Ogelman, H. G. (2014). Okul öncesi eğitimi öğretmenliği lisans öğrencilerinin benlik saygısı ve empatik becerileri arasındaki ilişkilerin incelenmesi. Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi, 23(4), 1665–1678. https://gcris.pau.edu.tr/handle/11499/42818
Lupien, S. P., Seery, M. D., & Almonte, J. L. (2010). Discrepant and congruent high self-esteem: Behavioral self-handicapping as a preemptive defensive strategy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(6), 1105–1108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.05.022
Mannahan, R. (2023). Self-esteem and rational self-handicapping. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4441635
Martin, A. S., & Lina, D. W. (2014). Self-handicapping, perfectionism, locus of control, and self-efficacy: A path model. Personality and Individual Differences, 66, 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.03.038
Mazaheri, S., Sadeghi, M., & Heydari, H. (2008). Comparing the perception and ideal of family structure in parents and their young children. Family Studies, 16(4), 329–351 [In Persian]. https://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/486531
McCrea, M. S., Hirt, E. R., Hinderix, K. L., Milner, B. J., & Steele, N. L. (2008). Developing a measure to explain gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(4), 949–970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.12.005
Mohamed, K. (2024). Debilitating research: Scholarship of the obvious and epistemic trauma. African Studies, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00000000.2024.000000
Ching, B. H. H., Li, X. F., & Tan, Y. (2025). Academic contingent self-worth and self-handicapping: An experimental test of failure mindset as a moderator. Social Psychology of Education, 28(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09990-4
Ommundsen, Y. (2004). Self-handicapping related to task and performance approach and avoidance goals in physical education. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16(2), 183–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200490437660
Raziq, M. M., Wazir, R., Memon, M. A., Rice, J. L., & Moazzam, M. (2025). Empowering leadership, employee organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior: The roles of leader authenticity and trust. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 74(1), 81–106. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-09-2023-0489
Ross, M., & Wilson, A. E. (2002). It feels like yesterday: Self-esteem, valence of personal past experiences, and judgments of subjective distance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(5), 792–803. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.5.792
Schwinger, M. (2013). Structure of academic self-handicapping: Global or domain-specific construct. Learning and Individual Differences, 27(5), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.07.009
Schwinger, M., & Stiensmeier-Pelster, J. (2011). Prevention of self-handicapping: The protective function of mastery goals. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(6), 699–709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.09.004
Shin, H., & Park, S. W. (2021). Perception of self-handicapping behavior in the workplace: Not that great. Current Psychology, 40(2), 910–918. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-0013-6
Smith, T. W., Snyder, C. R., Augelli, R. W., & Ingram, R. E. (1985). On the self-serving function of social anxiety: Shyness as a self-handicapping strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(4), 970–980. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.970
Soleimani, A., Abbasi, S., Sarani, H., Akhondzadeh Arani, A., & Afsharpour, R. (2021). The effect of teaching cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies on academic self-defeating and self-directed learning. Scientific Journal of Education and Evaluation, 14(54), 159–176. https://doi.org/10.30495/jinev.2021.1921525.2409
Stewart, M. A., & George-Walker, L. D. (2014). Self-handicapping, perfectionism, locus of control and self-efficacy: A path model. Personality and Individual Differences, 66, 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.03.038
Tanhay Rashvanloo, F., Rajabi Jaghartin, M., & Samadieh, H. (2024). Focal analysis of the relationship between identity styles and self-handicapping in high school students. Sociology of Education, 10(1), 236–245 [In Persian]. https://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/2270464
Török, L., Szabó, Z. P., & Boda-Ujlaky, J. (2014). Self-esteem, self-conscious emotions, resilience, and trait anxiety and their relation to self-handicapping tendencies. Review of Psychology, 21(2), 123–130. https://hrcak.srce.hr/147119
Urdan, T. (2004). Predictors of academic self-handicapping and achievement: Examining achievement goals, classroom goal structures, and culture. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(2), 251–264. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.2.251
Uysal, A., & Lu, Q. (2011). Is self-concealment associated with acute and chronic pain? Health Psychology, 30(5), 606–615. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024287
Want, J., & Kleitman, S. (2006). Imposter phenomenon and self-handicapping: Links with parenting styles and self-confidence. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(5), 961–971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.10.005