In 1978, Berglas & Jones gave participants an impossible test. Then offered them a choice of “performance drugs” before a retest. A third chose the one that would make them do worse (Berglas & Jones, 1978).
Why choose to fail harder? Because then the failure isn’t yours. It’s the drug’s.
The pre-emptive excuse
Self-handicapping is creating an obstacle in advance so failure can be blamed on the obstacle, not your ability.
| You do this | So you can say |
|---|---|
| Don’t study for the exam | “I didn’t try” (not “I’m dumb”) |
| Party the night before | “I was hungover” (not “I’m dumb”) |
| Procrastinate until deadline | “No time” (not “I’m dumb”) |
| Pick a fight before a date | “They’re difficult” (not “I’m unlovable”) |
| Claim illness or injury | “I wasn’t at 100%” (not “I’m not good”) |
Every self-handicap is a pre-emptive excuse with your self-image as collateral.
The two payoffs
A meta-analysis of 36 studies identified two motives (Schwinger et al., 2014):
- Self-protection: if I fail, the obstacle takes the blame
- Self-promotion: if I succeed despite the obstacle, I look extraordinary
Either way, your ability is never the thing being tested. That’s the trick.
The asymmetric math
- Real try + fail = proof of inadequacy. Ego takes the full hit.
- Real try + succeed = proof you can do it. But now you’re expected to repeat it.
- Fake try + fail = “I didn’t really try.” Ego intact.
- Fake try + succeed = “I’m a natural genius.” Ego inflated.
Three out of four outcomes protect or enhance the ego. Only the first puts it at risk.
What the research confirms
Schwinger’s 2014 meta-analysis found self-handicapping:
- Reduces actual performance. The obstacle you invent really does slow you down.
- Is a stable trait. Chronic self-handicappers do it across domains.
- Predicts academic underachievement. The gap between capability and outcome widens over time.
- Co-occurs with impostor phenomenon. Fraud-feelers handicap to avoid exposure.
Why this matters
- The behavior is about identity protection, not laziness. Calling it laziness misses the mechanism entirely.
- High-stakes moments trigger it most. The more you care, the more you handicap.
- It’s learned by reward. Every time an excuse “saves you,” you strengthen the pattern.
- Breaking the pattern means tolerating the fraud feeling. Really trying means the outcome is really yours.
You cannot protect your ego and learn your real ceiling at the same time.