Human self-destructive tendencies have fascinated yet misled psycholog
ists. Myths about self-destructive patterns have included mistaken not
ions about masochism, suicide, spouse abuse, and guilt. Many myths hav
e shared the assumption that people come to want suffering and failure
, but the present essay argues on the basis of an extensive literature
review that there is no empirical support for such a motivational pat
tern. Instead, many behaviors that seem superficially to reflect self-
destructive motives can in fact be better understood as arising from o
ther, more positive motives, such as the desire to escape from self-aw
areness. Empirical work has found systematic patterns of self-defeatin
g behaviors, particularly emphasizing tradeoffs that burden desirable
rewards with risks and costs, and systematic patterns of misregulation
of self that involve counterproductive strategies. Contrary to the fa
miliar view of self-destruction as arising from low self-esteem, it is
shown that egotism and high self-esteem, typically combined with some
threat of losing esteem, can be a cause of self-destructive actions.