This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shepperd, J. A. Articles by Slaughter, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Shepperd, J. A. Articles by Slaughter, J. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Constraints on Excuse Making: The Deterring Effects of Shyness and Anticipated Retest

University of Florida, shepperd{at}webb.psych.ufl.edu

Robert M. Arkin

Ohio State University

Jean Slaughter

University of Maryland-College Park

Although prior research has documented a pervasive egocentric bias in the self-perceptions, self-ascriptions, and behaviors of most people, shy individuals seem not to share this bias. This study examined whether the apparent absence of an egocentric bias among shy individuals is reflected in their excuse making following poor performance. It also examined whether anticipating a challenge to one's excuses would dissuade even nonshy individuals from making excuses. Shy and nonshy subjects received either success or failure feedback on an intelligence test and then were or were not told that they would be retested. Consistent with predictions, shy individuals refrained from making consistency-lowering excuses regardless of performance feedback and retest instructions. By contrast, nonshy subjects made consistency-lowering excuses after failure feedback, but only when they expected that their excuses would go unchallenged by a retest.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?