the anticipation of self-defeating behaviors by goal orientation:the meditational role of shame and guilt feelings

the present study investigated a model of the antecedents of self-defeating behaviors. In this model, goal orientations were considered as exogenous variables, self-defeating behaviors as endogenous variable, and shame and guilt feelings as mediators. The participants were 430 (286 females, 144 males) university students selected from Shiraz University. The participants completed the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (Cohen & Wolf, 2011), and the Self-Defeating Behavior and Cognition (Cunningham, 2007). The hypothetical model was tested by path analysis and significance of the meditational effects were examined by Bootstrap method. The results indicated that the mastery approach was a negative predictor of self-defeating behaviors both directly and indirectly through guilt and shame feelings as mediator variables, but the mastery avoidance had a positive direct effect on self-defeating behaviors. The performance approach had a negative direct effect, and the performance avoidance had a negative indirect effect on self-defeating behaviors. The findings were discussed in terms of the meditating role of guilt and shame feelings