Administered the Fear of Success Scale to college students (N=194) to determine whether sex differences exist in the reasons for fearing high achievement. Results indicated no real sex differences in motivation to avoid success. (LLL)

In this study, androgynous and masculine individuals reported less fear of success than feminine or undifferentiated individuals, and fear of success was related more to absence of masculine traits than presence of feminine ones. Only certain components of masculinity were unrelated to fear of success. (CMG)

Compared gay women (N=11) with heterosexual women (N=12) for frequency of high and low fear of success responses. Probability analysis determined the two groups differed significantly, with gay women evidencing less fear of success than expected. Devised a continuum of kinds of responses with subsequent analysis. (Author)

M.S. Horner has been criticized for defining "success" to her subjects in her research on fear-of-success. The present study, which provided an ambiguous verbal lead, showed low incidence of fear-of-success, because subjects themselves were allowed to define "success." (GC)

Fear of success and failure scales were administered. Scores were intercorrelated. Results indicated fear of success is not unidimensional. Measures of fear of success and fear of failure were highly related. Stable orthogonal factors were obtained: fear of success, test anxiety, sex-role-related attitudes, neurotic insecurity, and the value of…

Background: Academic self-handicapping refers to the use of impediments to successful performance on academic tasks. Previous studies have shown that it is related to personal achievement goals. A performance goal orientation is a positive predictor of self-handicapping, whereas a task goal orientation is unrelated to self-handicapping. Aims: The…

Most women avoid the conflict of dual family and occupational roles by avoiding demanding professional careers and by placing family responsibilities above occupational goals. This avoidance syndrome serves as a barrier that discourages women from entering or pursuing high status professions. (Author)

This study updated and extended the classic "fear of success" study conducted by Matina Horner more than 30 years ago. Horner (1970) asked college students to respond to a scenario in which "Anne" or "John" is at the top of her/his medical school class. Based on the negative responses of students to "Anne,"…

A study of college women's achievement behavior provides partial evidence that objective fear-of-success scales tap actual avoidance tendencies characteristic of traditionally feminine women, while the Thematic Apperception Test reflects, at most, ambivalence over success which may be equally characteristic of high achieving, nontraditional, and…

One hundred graduate students completed the Zuckerman-Allison Fear of Success Scale and indicated the number of competitive team sports in which they participated in grades 7 through 12. Results did not support the prediction that fear of success should be inversely related to early participation in team sports. (Author/SJL)

Because different fear of success measurement instruments do not seem to tap the same underlying trait, factor analysis of this construct was inconclusive. The study's findings on anxiety, however, were clearer: anxiety significantly differentiates the sexes and is a negative predictor of both grade point average and ability. (Author/GC)

Examines for female undergraduate students the relationship between fear of success, sex role attitudes, and career salience, and the relationship between fear of success, career salience, and trait anxiety. Results indicated that fear of success and sex-role attitudes, in combination, significantly predicted the level of career salience. (Author)

The relationship between unipolar models of sex-role identity and situational cues on fear of success was investigated. Situational variables were of greater importance in affecting female response to female success. Some data indicated that general diffusion of sex-role identity rather than high femininity is related to avoidance of success.…

Reports on a study to determine the relationships of such variables as age, race, sex, marital status, and work experience to the fear of the effects of success, focusing primarily on female librarians. (FM)

Competence-based stereotypes can negatively affect women's performance in math and science (referred to as stereotype threat), presumably leading to lower motivation. The authors examined the effects of stereotype threat on interest, a motivational path not necessarily mediated by performance. They predicted that working on a computer science task…