The night before an exam, a student decides to go to a party and get trashed. The student was ill-prepared anyway for the exam. When the grade of "F" comes back, he says it was due to partying and that he could have passed if he just stayed home. The student is displaying:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The student is engaging in self-handicapping by creating an excuse (partying) for potential failure, thus protecting their self-esteem by attributing the failure to external factors rather than their own lack of preparation.

The Night Before an Exam, a Student Decides to Go