Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trying and Giving Up

Persistence and Lack of Persistence in Failure Situations

  • Chapter
Self-Defeating Behaviors

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series in Social / Clinical Psychology ((SSSC))

Abstract

In my 1982 book, Expectations and Actions (Feather, 1982b), Janoff-Bulman and Brickman (1982) discussed the question of what people learn from failure and how their behavior in failure situations can be maladaptive. They described two kinds of maladaptive response: excessive trying or persistence when expectations are high and repeated failure is experienced, and giving up too quickly in the face of failure when expectations are low. My intention in the present chapter is first to summarize the main points of their discussion and to describe subsequent research that was suggested by their analysis. I then review a sample of theoretical approaches that relate to the analysis of persistence and that have implications for the general question of when persistence or lack of persistence is self-defeating or maladaptive.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abramson, L.Y., Martin, D.J. (1981). Depression and the causal inference process. In J.H. Harvey, W. Ickes, R.F. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 3, pp. 117–168 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abramson, L.Y., Seligman, M.E.R, Teasdale, J.D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arkin, R.M., Baumgardner, A.H. (1985). Self-handicapping. In J.H. Harvey, G. Weary (Eds.), Attribution: Basic issues and applications (pp. 169–202 ). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64, 359–372.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.W. (1982). Old and new conceptions of how expected consequences influence actions. In N.T. Feather (Ed.), Expectations and actions: Expectancy-value models in psychology (pp. 17–52 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.W., Birch, D. (1970). The dynamics of action. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.W., Birch, D. (1978). An introduction to motivation. New York: Van Nostrand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.W., Birch, D. (1986). Fundamentals of the dynamics of action. In J. Kuhl, J.W. Atkinson (Eds.), Motivation, thought, and action (pp. 16–48 ). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.W., Feather, N.T. (Eds.). (1966). A theory of achievement motivation. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1988). Self-regulation of motivation and action through goal systems. In V. Hamilton, G.H. Bower, N.H. Frijda (Eds.), Cognitive perspectives on emotion and motivation (pp. 37–61 ). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Cervone, D. (1983). Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivational effects of goal systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1017–1028.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Cervone, D. (1986). Differential engagement of self-reactive influences in cognitive motivation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 38, 92–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battle, E.S. (1965). Motivational determinants of academic task persistence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2, 209–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F., Scher, S.J. (1988). Self-defeating behavior patterns among normal individuals: Review and analysis of common self-destructive tendencies. Psychological Bulletin, 104, 3–22.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bazerman, M.H., Giuliano, T., Appelman, A. (1984). Escalation of commitment in individual and group decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 33, 141–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth-Kewley, S., Friedman, H.S. (1987). Psychological predictors of heart disease: A quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 343–362.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J. (1979). Self-esteem, self-consciousness, and task performance: Replications, extensions, and possible explanations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 447–461.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J., Nathanson, S., Friend, A., Harbeck, J., Samuelson, C., Houser, R., Bazerman, M.H., Rubin, J.Z. (1984). The role of modeling processes in the “knee deep in the big muddy” phenomenon. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 33, 77–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J., Rubin, J.Z., Lang, E. (1981). Face-saving and entrapment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 17, 68–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J., Shaw MC, Rubin, JZ (1979). Factors affecting withdrawal from an escalating conflict: Quitting before it’s too late. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 15, 492–503.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D.R., Veroff, J. (Eds.). (1986). Frontiers of motivational psychology. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown I, Jr., Inouye, D.K. (1978). Learned helplessness through modeling: The role of perceived similarity in competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 900–908.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver CS, BlaneyPH, Scheier, MF (1979). Reassertion and giving up: The interactive role of self-directed attention and outcome expectancy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1859–1870.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C.S., Scheier, M.F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control-theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C.S., Scheier, M.F. (1985). A control-systems approach to the self-regulation of action. In J. Kuhl, J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 237–265 ). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cervone, D., Peake, PK (1986). Anchoring, efficacy, and action: The influence of judgmental heuristics on self-efficacy judgments and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 492–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conlon, EJ, Wolf, G. (1980). The moderating effects of strategy, visibility, and involvement on allocation behavior: An extension of Staw’s escalation paradigm. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 26, 172–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, C.I., Dweck, CS (1978). An analysis of learned helplessness: Continuous changes in performance, strategy, and achievement conditions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 451–462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, CI, Dweck, CS (1980). An analysis of learned helplessness: II. The processing of success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 940–952.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C.S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674–685.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J., Adler, T., Meece, JL (1984). Sex differences in achievement: A test of alternate theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 26–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1961). The relationship of persistence at a task to expectation of success and achievement-related motives. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 552–561.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1962). The study of persistence. Psychological Bulletin, 59, 94–115.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1963). Persistence at a difficult task with alternative task of intermediate difficulty. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 604–609.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1966). Effects of prior success and failure on expectations of success and subsequent performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 287–298.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1968). Change in confidence following success or failure as a predictor of subsequent performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 38–46.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1982a). Actions in relation to expected consequences: An overview of a research program. In N.T. Feather (Ed.), Expectations and actions: Expectancy-value models in psychology (pp. 53–95 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (Ed.). (1982b). Expectations and actions: Expectancy-value models in psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, NT (1983). Some correlates of attributional style: Depressive symptoms, self- esteem, and protestant ethic values. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 9, 125–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1985). The psychological impact of unemployment: Empirical findings and theoretical approaches. In N.T. Feather (Ed.), Australian psychology: Review of research (pp. 265–295 ). Sydney: George Allen and Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1986). Human values, valences, expectations and affect: Theoretical issues emerging from recent applications of the expectancy-value model. In D.R. Brown, J. Veroff (Eds.), Frontiers of motivational psychology: Essays in honor of John W. Atkinson (pp. 146–172 ). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T. (1987a). Gender differences in values: Implications of the expectancy-value model. In F. Halisch, J. Kuhl (Eds.), Motivation, intention, and volition (pp. 31–45 ). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, NT (1987b). The rosy glow of self-esteem: Depression, masculinity, and causal attributions. Australian Journal of Psychology, 39, 25–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, NT (1988a). From values to actions: Recent applications of the expectancy-value model. Australian Journal of Psychology, 40, 105–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, NT (1988b). Values, valences, and course enrollment: Testing the role of personal values within an expectancy-value framework. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 381–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T., O’Brien, G.E. (1986). A longitudinal study of the effects of employment and unemployment on school-leavers. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 59, 121–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, NT, O’Brien, GE (1987). Looking for employment: An expectancy-valence analysis of job-seeking behaviour among young people. British Journal of Psychology, 78, 251–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N.T., Saville, M.R. (1967). Effects of amount of prior success and failure on expectations of success and subsequent task performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 226–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fenigstein, A., Scheier, MF, Buss, AH (1975). Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43, 522–527.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foersterling, F. (1985). Attributional retraining: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 495–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, F.V., Staw, B.M. (1979). The trapped administrator: Effects of insecurity and policy resistance upon commitment to a course of action. Administrative Sciences Quarterly, 24, 449–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankel, A., Snyder, M.L. (1978). Poor performance following unsolvable problems: Learned helplessness or egotism? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1415–1423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Froming, W.J., Carver, C.S. (1981). Divergent influences on private and public self- consciousness in a compliance paradigm. Journal of Research in Personality, 15, 159–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garber, J., Seligman, M.E.P. (Eds.). (1980) Human helplessness. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S. (1984). Communicated sympathy and anger to black and white children: The cognitive (attributional) consequences of affective cues. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 40–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, A. (1980). The totalitarian ego: Fabrication and revision of personal history. American Psychologist, 35, 603–618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckhausen, H. (1977). Achievement motivation and its constructs: A cognitive model. Motivation and Emotion, 4, 283–319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckhausen, H. (1986). Why some time out might benefit achievement motivation research. In JHL van den Bercken, EEJ de Bruyn, TCM Bergen (Eds.), Achievement and task motivation (pp. 7–39 ). Lisse: Swets, Zeitlinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckhausen, H., Gollwitzer, P.M. (1987) Thought content and cognitive functioning in motivational versus volitional states of mind. Motivation and Emotion, 11, 101–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckhausen, H., Kuhl, J. (1985). From wishes to action: The dead ends and short cuts on the long way to action. In M. Frese J. Sabini (Eds.), Goal-directed behavior: Psychological theory and research on action (pp. 134–160 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrman, C., Wortman, C.B. (1985). Action control and the coping process. In J. Kuhl, J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior. New York: Springer- Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Rogers, RW (1984). Understanding persistence: An interface of control theory and self-efficacy theory. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 5, 333–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R. (1979). Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1798–1809.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R., Brickman, P. (1976). When not all problems are soluble, does it still help to expect success? Unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R., Brickman, P. (1982). Expectations and what people learn from failure. In N.T. Feather (Ed.), Expectations and actions: Expectancy-value models in psychology (pp. 207–237 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R., Marshall, P. (1978). Coping and control in a population of institutionalized elderly. Unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, EE, Berglas, S. (1978). Control of attributions about the self through self- handicapping strategies: The appeal of alcohol and the role of under-achievement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4, 200–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kernis, MH, Zuckerman, M., Cohen, A., Spadafora, S. (1982). Persistence following failure: he interactive role of self-awareness and the attributional basis for negative expectancies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 1184–1191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, J. (1985). Volitional mediators of cognition-behavior consistency: Self-regulatory processes and action versus state orientation. In J. Kuhl, J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 101–128 ). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, J. (1987). A model of self-regulation. In F. Halisch, J. Kuhl (Eds.), Motivation, intention, and volition (pp. 279–291 ). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, J., Atkinson, J.W. (Eds.). (1986). Motivation, thought, and action. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, J., Beckmann, J. (1985). Action control: From cognition to behavior. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, J., Geiger, E. (1986). The dynamic theory of the anxiety-behavior relationship. In J. Kuhl, J.W. Atkinson (Eds.), Motivation, thought, and action (pp. 76–93 ). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R.S., Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. (1935). A dynamic theory of personality. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K., Dembo, T., Festinger, L., Sears, P.S. (1944). Level of aspiration. In J. McV. Hunt (Ed.), Personality and the behavior disorders (Vol. 1, pp. 333–378 ). New York: Ronald Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E.A., Motowidlo, S.J., Bobko, P (1986). Using self-efficacy theory to resolve the conflict between goal-setting theory and expectancy theory in organizational behavior and industrial/organizational psychology. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 328–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E.A., Shaw, K.N., Saari, L.M., Latham, G.P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 125–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFarlin, DB, Baumeister, RF, Blascovich, J. (1984). On knowing when to quit: Task failure, self-esteem, advice, and non-productive persistence. Journal of Personality, 52, 138–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, WH (1970). Self-concept and achievement motivation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ruhr Universität, Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G.A., Galanter, E., Pribram, K.H. (1960). Plans and the structure of behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathanson, S., Brockner, J., Brenner, D., Samuelson, C., Countryman, M., Lloyd, M., Rubin, J.Z. (1982). Toward the reduction of entrapment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 12, 193–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nygard, R. (1977). Personality, situation, and persistence. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nygard, R. (1981). Toward an interactional psychology: Models from achievement motivation research. Journal of Personality, 49, 361–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perez, R.C. (1973). The effect of experimentally induced failure, self-esteem, and sex on cognitive differentiation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 81, 74–79.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Powers, W.T. (1973a). Behavior: The control of perception. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powers, WT (1973b). Feedback: Beyond behaviorism. Science, 179, 351–356.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J. (1983). Determinants of reduction in intended effort as a strategy for coping with anticipated failure. Journal of Research in Personality, 17, 412–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, JZ, Brockner, J. (1975). Factors affecting entrapment in waiting situations: The Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 1054–1063.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruble, D.N., Boggiano, A.K. (1980). Optimizing motivation in an achievement context. In B. Keogh (Ed.), Advances in special education. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schalon, C.L. (1968). Effect of self-esteem upon performance following failure stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 32, 497.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schrauger, J.S., Sorman, P.B. (1977). Self-evaluations, initial success and failure, and improvement as determinants of persistance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 784–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, TW, Anderson, NB (1986). Models of personality and disease: An interactional approach to Type A behavior and cardiovascular risk. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 1166–1173.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, M.L., Smoller, B., Strenta, A., Frankel, A. (1981). A comparison of egotism, negativity, and learned helplessness as explanations for poor performance after unsolvable problems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 24–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, M.L., Stephan, W.G., Rosenfield, D. (1978). Attributional egotism. In J.H. Harvey, W. Ickes, R.F. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 2, pp. 91–117 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staw, BM (1976). Knee-deep in the big muddy: A study of escalating commitment to a chosen course of action. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 27–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strube, MJ, Boland, SM (1986). Postperformance attributions and task persistence among Type A and B individuals: A clarification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 413–420.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, SE, Brown, JD (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193–210.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teger, A.I. (1980). Too much invested to quit. New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trope, Y. (1983). Self-assessment in achievement behavior. In J.M. Suls, A.G. Greenwald (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 2, pp. 92–121 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trope, Y., Ben-Yair, E. (1982). Task construction and persistence as a means for self- assessment of abilities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 637–645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberg, RS, Gould, D., Jackson, A. (1979). Expectations and performance: An empirical test of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Journal of Sport Psychology, 1, 320–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1965). The effects of unsatisfied achievement motivation on persistence and subsequent performance. Journal of Personality, 33, 428–442.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1980). Human motivation. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92, 548–573.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1986). An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B., Sierad, J. (1975). Misattribution for failure and enhancement of achievement strivings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 415–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, H., Sherman, J. (1973). Internal-external control as a predictor of task effort and satisfaction subsequent to failure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 57, 132–136.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Psychology, The Flinders University of South Australia, 5042, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia

    Norman T. Feather

Authors
  1. Norman T. Feather
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, USA

    Rebecca C. Curtis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Feather, N.T. (1989). Trying and Giving Up. In: Curtis, R.C. (eds) Self-Defeating Behaviors. The Plenum Series in Social / Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0783-9_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0783-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8080-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0783-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation