How to Find Balance When Too Much Self-Doubt Gets in the Way

According to social scientists, a self-doubting mindset leads to two common coping mechanisms: “self-handicapping”—when students underperform as a way to shield themselves from the psychic consequence of working hard and doing poorly—and “subjective overachievement,” taking heroic measures to guarantee a successful outcome, and attributing that success solely to effort. The overachieving variant of self-doubt, which afflicts Sophia, is common among high school and college students, said Patrick Carroll, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University who studies the problem. (more)