The Effects of Success-Failure on the Perception of Threat in a Competitive Situation

Forty-one high competition trait-anxious and 42 low competition trait-anxious fifth- and sixth-grade boys were tested to assess the effects of success-failure competition outcomes on the perception of threat to self and the response to threat in terms of self-protective behavior. Three groups including success, moderate-success, and failure were established by manipulating win percentage. State anxiety was used as the indicant of perceived threat and self-protective behavior was assessed by causal attribution, opponent preference, and preference for social comparison others. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance, analysis of variance, and chi square techniques. The findings strongly indicate that success-failure is an important variable affecting the perception of threat to self in a competitive situation. Further, examination of both the results and the existing paradigmatic differences lead to greater insight regarding the conditions under which self-protective behavior is evoked.