Performance Avoidance

Causes of Performance Avoidance

Self-worth theory explains that the quest for acceptance is the highest human priority. In schools, acceptance comes in the ability to achieve competitively. In society, humans are considered only successful if their achievements are greater than most. Students therefore mistake ability with worth. If a student feels they cannot perform a certain task, they may try to take some easy ways out. For example, a student might set a goal that is impossible by most to achieve. In this case, when the student does not achieve the goal, their peers might think the goal was impossible anyways, so the student failed honorably. Therefore, the student avoids being labeled incompetent because the goal was extremely hard to achieve. (Covington, 1992).

Studies show that students generally admire ability over just working hard, thus, students would rather look smart, instead of just working hard. Teachers tend to reflect this as well. In the classroom, teachers respect hard work, but they grade according to a student’s ability to understand and complete the work. Thus, students that have trouble in the content area are set to fail, because they genuinely do not understand the content. These students that do not understand the content might feel embarrassed if their peers knew this, so they find any way possible to not look incompetent. Excuses usually become of students that do not want to look incompetent. For example, if a student failed a test, they might state that they did not have enough time to study, when in reality they spent several hours studying. Their peers might then state “No wonder they failed, they did not have enough time to study.” However, if the student stated that they studied for hours and still failed, their peers might say “Wow, they must be stupid if they studied that long and still failed.” (Covington, 1992).

Students that are afraid of failure might disguise themselves as underachievers. They might think that if they never try anything, then people will not expect much from them. Underachievers might make the assumption that they are unique for not trying, and everyone else that tries are conforming to society. These students might try to convince others that not trying is “cool”, and that others that try are “not cool”. All of these excuses are what underachievers use to elevate their ability. If no one ever sees them try, then no one can assume they are incompetent. (Covington, 1992).

Other students might use an “academic wooden leg.” Students that take this approach put all of the blame of their incompetencies on a mental or physical disorder that they cannot control. For example, a student might claim that they have test anxiety, which makes them perform poorly on a test. When confronted with the inadequacy of their scores, they would blame it on their illness. This brings others to sympathize for the student, while still excusing them from being “stupid”. (Covington, 1992).

Effects of Performance Avoidance

A student who exhibits a performance avoidance motivation pattern may find themselves more likely to self handicap. Self handicapping is a term to describe behavior when students create physical or psychological obstacles in order to be used as excuses for failure in the future (Covington, 1992). When students make a habit of self handicapping, nothing is ever accomplished, and the student does not learn anything. This goal orientation also prevents the student from acknowledging and indulging in their own interests. A student could potentially enjoy a subject, but they might not ever allow themselves to put forth enough effort out of fear of failure. When a student believes that their ability to receive high marks is correlated to their self worth, it can be extremely frustrating and frightening to fail a task that one actually tried to complete. This state of fear is debilitating to students, and must be overcome in order to encourage them to learn.

Overall, the effects of the performance avoidance goal orientation have the ability to snowball over time. As students grow older, their assessment of self worth becomes more intense (Covington, 1992). Over time, self handicapping behaviors become habit, and this increases the likelihood of failure in the future. At the heart of this goal orientation is the student's desire to preserve their self worth; however, exhibiting this behavior is likely to have the opposite effect. In the classroom, a student may choose to view failure and nonconformity as a badge of honor (Covington, 1992). The effects of this outside of the classroom include feelings of "self rage" and overall insecurity because these behaviors are rooted in a fear of being inferior and unworthy rather than stemming from moral enlightenment (Covington, 1992). These negative effects on the student's perception of the self act as a vicious cycle. As the student's self worth deteriorates, they will continue to practice these self handicapping behaviors in order to regain some self worth. Then, the student continues to fail, and ultimately develops a more negative perception of the self. It is easy to see how these behaviors can be compounded upon each other, so it is important for teachers to recognize self handicapping in their students as soon as possible, and foster healthier habits within the classroom. Practicing beneficial habits inside the classroom has the potential to translate into a better image of the self outside of the classroom.

What can teachers do?

Teachers should:

• encourage participation- ask that each student puts effort into the classwork and at the very least, TRY.
• absolute goals- everyone is held to the same standards and everyone must achieve the same goals
• individual improvement- praise students for their own improvements over time, acknowledge their efforts to improve

Performance avoiding students are not unlike performance approach students in that their self worth is based on how they compare to others. However, performance avoid students do not work hard to appear better than others, but rather sabotage themselves to lower expectations so that they are expected to fail. As an educator this is massively problematic as these students are purposely choosing to not participate in their educational endeavors in any meaningful way. When teaching students who are displaying this behavior it may be time to utilize the recognition, authority, and evaluation strategies from the TARGET method. By praising what the students do correctly in their own development, separate from grades and the performance of others, a teacher can begin to foster more confidence within a student causing them to develop more mastery goals. The authority strategy, allowing students to have more control in the classroom and with course work, will also make them feel as though they are taking control of their own education. One of the most important strategies for these students is allowing them to improve and correct previous work, also known as the evaluation method. If a student feels as though there is no chance that they can recover in a class they may stop trying altogether. This will also help them to realize that their growth in the class is the most important factor in their education. By making a student feel active and in control of their education a teacher can begin to curtail performance avoidance behavior (Deemer, 2004).