Individual differences in reaction to failure: mode of coping with anxiety, and interference-proneness.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe general proposition was advanced that the effect of failure on ongoing performance is to an important extent determined by the individual's mode of coping with the anxiety aroused, and by his ability to resist or overcome the interference of anxiety in cognitive functioning. Two contrasting modes of coping with anxiety were defined as (a) the goal-oriented mode which involves persistence in the pursuit of a blocked goal, and (b) the ego-oriented mode involving withdrawal from the frustrating situation and loss of interest in it. The different implications with regard to the fate of motivation in these reactions to stress led to predictions of varying changes in ongoing performance as a consequence of frustration, on the assumption that the motivation an individual brings to a task is reflected in the energy he puts into its execution. Changes in motivation were assumed to manifest themselves as changes in output. [TRUNCATED