Perfectionism and Self-Handicapping Behaviors of Gifted Students: A Review of the Literature

The study addresses two issues, perfectionism and self-handicapping, which may threaten gifted students’ academic achievement and self-esteem. While perfectionism refers to setting unreasonably high standards for one’s own performance, self-handicapping is defined as creating impediments or obstacles to use as an excuse for poor performance. Although both perfectionist and self-handicapping behaviors have some potential benefits for gifted students, they are mostly detrimental and can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and poor performance. This study aims to provide an overview of perfectionism and self-handicapping with a particular emphasis on how perfectionism may provoke self-handicapping behaviors among gifted students so that educators in gifted programs might become more aware of these behvaiors and their implications. The study also discusses some of the strategies that can be helpful to avoid these behaviors and their negative outcomes on gifted learners.