Performance failure appraisal: A gender-based comparative analysis among university of Delhi undergraduates using PFAI

Abstract

Background and study aim: This study examines gender-based differences in the appraisal of performance failure among undergraduate students at the University of Delhi. It uses the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) developed by David E. Conroy, which assesses five dimensions of fear of failure: fear of shame and embarrassment, fear of self-devaluation, fear of an uncertain future, fear of losing the interest of important others, and fear of upsetting important others. A total of 120 students (60 males and 60 females) were selected through random sampling. The study applies descriptive and inferential statistics to explore gendered variations in these psychological domains. IBM SPSS Version 22 was employed to conduct the statistical investigation, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results: The descriptive examination demonstrated that female generally had somewhat higher average scores across most fear-of-failure dimensions, particularly in Fear of an Uncertain Future (FUF) and Fear of Important Others Losing Interest (FOI). However, independent samples t-tests doesn’t find any gender differences among the five dimensions (p>0.05), indicating broadly similar psychological appraisals of performance failure among male and female undergraduates at the University of Delhi.