Man Smart, Woman Smarter? Getting to the Root of Gender Differences in Self-handicapping

Research in self-handicapping has consistently demonstrated a robust yet puzzling gender difference in the use of behavioral self-handicaps. Women not only are less likely to use behavioral self-handicaps when such opportunities present themselves, but are also more punitive in their evaluations of others who utilize these types of handicaps. For years, the literature has considered several possible explanations for these consistent gender differences, with little success. The present work highlights our recent efforts suggesting that the personal value placed on effort, as indexed by the 'Worker scale' (McCrea, Hirt, Hendrix, Milner, & Steele, 2008), is an important mediator of these gender differences in both the use of and evaluation of others' use of behavioral self-handicaps. Discussion centers on the implications of the present results for gaining a better understanding of the motivations and tradeoffs that underlie the use of this self-defeating strategy.