Week 10 fear of failure Flashcards
What are some of the effects of fear of failure?
Increased cheating Avoidance goal orientation Eating disorders Substance abuse Burnout / dropout Headaches / depression/ stress
Fear of failure has been conceptualised within the achievement motivation literature, how is it defined?
It is the motivation to avoid failure in achievement settings. One feels shame and humiliation upon failure (anticipatory self-conscious emotions)
What di McClelland (1958) say about the motive to avoid failure?
It is learned. It is socialised between the ages of 5-9yrs of age and can become an enduring aspect of personality.
What did Birney et al (1969) say could lead to fear of failure?
The possibility of non-attainment of a goal can lead to fear of the anticipated consequences of failure
Birney et al (1969) identified 3 kinds of FF, what are these?
Devaluation of self estimate of ability (lowering perceived competence)
Non-ego punishments (may be losing out on rewards / material benefits)
Reduction in social value (perception that significant others will think less of you)
What did Conroy (2001) state as some developmental considerations in regards to FF?
Family structure and climate
Parental demands for independence / mastery
Parent-child communications
Why is family structure and climate a consideration?
Is it a confrontational or friendly atmosphere that exists in the home.
Typical family structure is changing - more single parents.
Absent fathers have been associated with a high FF in sons.
Typically a same sex concordance
Why is Parental demands for mastery and independence a consideration?
Some parents will be more / less tolerant as to how children progress and how they react when children make mistakes
Demands to achieve mastery quicker associated with higher FF
Why is parent-child communications a consideration?
Interactions / behaviours / words / tones
Temporarily less love/affection shown when parent disapproving of something a child has not done well - could lead to greater FF
What are the dimensions of Martin & Marsh’s (2003) friend or foe model
High failure avoidant + High success orientated = overstriver
High failure avoidant + Low success orientated = self-protector
Low failure avoidant + High success orientated = optimist
Low failure avoidant + Low success orientated = failure accepter
What are the characteristics of an optimist?
Desirable profile
Approach mindset
Look forward to doing well
Look forward to challenge
What are the characteristics of an overstriver?
Work very hard
Approach/strive
* these two above are friend - gets the outcome you want
May not be emotionally pleasant
Anxiety/self doubt
May not bounce back from setback
* these three above are foe
What are the characteristics of a self protector?
Want to protect self worth
Don’t want to conclude that they are low ability
May engage in self handicapping and defensive pessimism
What are the characteristics of a failure acceptor?
Disinvested from the context
Not bothered by success or failure
May find these individuals in PE but less likely in youth sport
What is self handicapping?
Deliberate sabotage of own performance - use it as an excuse for failure
- don’t see this as much in sport as in education
What is defensive pessimism?
Overly unrealistic pessimistic views (more common than self handicapping)
A from of cognitive posturing
Why research FF?
Sport represents a significant achievement domain for children and adolescents
Elite youth sport is a highly competitive context where the increasing pressure to achieve top performance can bring with it an increase in fear among young athletes.
FF can affect young people’s social development
What did Conroy (2002) outline as some consequences of failure?
Experiencing shame upon failure
Devaluing one’s self estimate
Having an uncertain future
Loss of social value
Upsetting important others
Sagar (2009) looked at the effects of FF. What did he outline as the effects on well-being?
Effects on the athlete’s emotional states, self perception and motivation (nervous, stressed, scared, anxious, upset, not sleeping well, loss of self confidence and motivation)
Sagar (2009) looked at the effects of FF. What did he outline as the effects on interpersonal behaviour?
Irritable, less sociable, less tolerant to others, seek isolation, snappy, keep themselves to themselves, quiet.
Sagar (2009) looked at the effects of FF. What did he outline as the effects on schoolwork?
Not concentrating enough at school and other things
Sagar (2009) looked at the effects of FF. What did he outline as the effects on sporting performance?
Perceive that their performance was reduced and less confident in their performance.
What did Sagar (2009) outline as the three ways to cope with FF?
Avoidance focused
Emotional focused
Problem focused
- research suggests that the majority of strategies that young people talk about would fall into the first category.
What are some examples of avoidance focused coping?
Cognitive - mental disengagement, try not to let FF affect me
Behavioural - become quiet, not talk about FF, humour, chill out
What are some examples of emotional focused coping?
Cognitive - positive self talk, positive reinterpretation, lowering goals, seek emotional social support
What are some examples of problem focused coping?
Behavioural - increase effort to prevent failure, confronting your fears
Typically seen as the most adaptive / best way to cope
According to Sagar and Lavallee (2010) what are the three mechanisms of transmission?
Punitive behaviour - criticism, threat, punishment, love withdrawal
Controlling behaviour - over-planning and analysis, attending daily training/comps
High expectations - win comps, perform well, invest max effort, be committed, return for investment
