Vanessa has an important presentation at work, but she fears that she will do a poor job due to her stage fright. The evening before the presentation, she goes to a bar with her friends and spends the entire night there. She now has a severe hangover during the morning of the presentation. Social psychologists refer to Vanessa's behavior as ____.

A) self-regulation
B) automatic egotism
C) overjustification
D) self-handicapping

Question

Abigail Howard · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : D, Explanation :  Vanessa's behavior is an example of self-handicapping, where an individual sets up a barrier or excuse for potential failure. By spending the night out and getting a hangover, she has created a situation where if she performs poorly, the blame could be attributed to her hangover rather than her stage fright or lack of ability.

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