Self-handicapping mediates between impulsiveness and self-discipline

Self-handicapping, while not a very acknowledged tendency, is very prevalent today. Especially among students of any grade level, the behavior prevents many from reaching their full potential. The purpose of this experiment was to see how Selfhandicapping mediated between Impulsiveness and Self-discipline which can later be used by teachers to help students with this phenomenon. A short survey was given to psychology undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga whose age ranged from 18-44 and were predominantly Caucasian. Self-handicapping was found to mediate between Impulsiveness and Self-discipline (r = .512) compared to Impulsiveness and Self-discipline (r= .288) without using self-handicapping as a mediator. The implications that can be taken from this study include using the results in an educational setting to pinpoint selfhandicapping tendencies. Despite limitations in the study, it was conducted in an environment that was cohesive to the environment in which it would be applied