Self-Defeating Behavior

Background and History

Social psychologists began thinking about selfdefeating behaviors as a class of behaviors in the late 1980s. Interest in this topic spread following the controversy that took place in the 1980s about whether or not a psychological disorder called the self-defeating personality disorder should be included in the official handbook of mental disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

[Page 805]The group revising the DSM in the 1980s wanted to include a disorder where people showed “a pervasive pattern of self-defeating behaviors.” Some people didn't want this to be included because they said that there wasn't enough research to show that a disorder like this really existed; some people didn't want it to be included because they said that the behaviors that supposedly made up the self-defeating personality disorder were really parts of other personality disorders; and finally, some people didn't want it to be included because they were afraid that the disorder would be biased against women and would excuse spouse abusers, blaming their victims by claiming that the victims had self-defeating personality disorder.

In the edition of the DSM published in 1987 (called the DSM-III-R), self-defeating personality disorder was included in an appendix and was not considered an official diagnosis. More recent editions of the DSM do not mention the self-defeating personality disorder at all.

Even though social psychologists were inspired by this controversy, they are interested in studying behaviors of normal people, not those of people who are mentally ill. Although some psychiatrists believe that all humans are driven to harm themselves, most people are not motivated in this way. Most humans are interested in accomplishing their goals, not in harming themselves.

Types

Social psychologists have divided self-defeating behaviors into two types. One type is called counterproductive behaviors. A counterproductive behavior happens when people try to get something they want, but the way they try to get it ends up not being a good one. One type of counterproductive behavior occurs when people persevere at something beyond the time that it is realistic for them to achieve the desired outcome. For example, students taking a class, and doing very poorly, sometimes refuse to drop the class. They think that if they stick it out, they will be able to pull their grades up and pass the class. But, it may just be too late for some, or they may not have the ability to really pass the class. Most students' goals are to get a degree with as high a grade point average as possible, so refusing to drop the class is a self-defeating behavior. Counterproductive behaviors usually happen because the person has a wrong idea either about himself or herself or about the situation the person is in. The students have an incorrect idea about their own abilities; they think they can succeed, but they can't.

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