Three tests of the learned helplessness model of depression.

Three studies, employing 132 undergraduates, tested predictions derived from M. E. Seligman's (1975) helplessness model of depression. The 1st attempted to replicate the finding that depressed individuals evidence a perception of noncontingency, manifest in a failure to adjust predictions of future success in a skill task on the basis of past success. The prediction was not supported: Depressed and nondepressed Ss did not differ on measures of perceived noncontingency. Exp II tested the prediction that Ss in whom helplessness had been induced would evidence a perception of noncontingency, measured as in Exp I; this prediction was not supported, though helplessness Ss did report greater depression than controls, as predicted by the model. Exp III successfully replicated the finding that in depressed individuals there is a diminution of learning and problem solving, as manifest in poorer ability to solve anagrams; however, this was not accompanied by differences in self-reported perceived noncontrol. The present studies cast doubt on the claim that the perception of noncontingency plays a role in depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An attempt to reverse performance deficits associated with depression and experimentally induced helplessness.

The learned helplessness model of depression predicts that any effective treatment for reactive depression should also reverse performance deficits associated with experimentally induced helplessness, and vice versa. A study was conducted to test this prediction. Ss were 62 college students who were exposed to experimental manipulations designed to induce helplessness or who scored above a group mean on the Beck Depression Inventory. Depressed and helpless Ss were randomly assigned to 4 groups. The 2 treatment groups received either E. Velten's (1968) mood statements for the induction of elation or a set of simple anagrams to solve. The 2 remaining groups were exposed to no-treatment conditions. All Ss were tested for helplessness on a series of concept formation problems. Results fail to confirm the predictions of the learned helplessness model of depression. Although treatment was effective with helpless Ss, the performance of treated depressed Ss was not enhanced. Also, depressed Ss given anagrams performed more poorly than depressed Ss given mood statements. Several possible explanations for the findings are considered. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helplessness and resourcefulness in coping with epilepsy.

Examined the hypothesis that emotional sequelae of epilepsy are a joint function of the epilepsy severity level and Ss' perceived repertoire of self-control skills (i.e., their learned resourcefulness). 50 19–50 yr old epileptic patients were divided into 3 groups according to the occurrence frequency of generalized tonic-clonic seizures: high, medium, and low frequencies. Ss were further divided into high-resourceful (HR) and low-resourceful (LR) groups according to their scores on the Self-Control Schedule. Ss were administered a battery of tests that included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. In a structured interview Ss' emotional adjustment level was evaluated as well as their beliefs in their ability to control their health and seizures. In the medium and low categories of seizure frequency, HR Ss were significantly less depressed and anxious and coped better with their disability than LR Ss. However, in the high-frequency range of seizures, HR and LR Ss equally showed low levels of emotional adjustment. Regardless of the severity level of the epilepsy, HR Ss maintained a stronger belief in their control over their health and their seizures. Seizure frequency had no effect on these beliefs. Data support the notion that individual differences in learned resourcefulness influence the coping level of epileptics, in particular in the less severe cases of epilepsy. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and learned helplessness in man.

Demonstrated similarity of impairment in naturally occurring depression and laboratory-induced learned helplessness in 48 undergraduates. 3 groups each of depressed and nondepressed Ss were exposed to escapable, inescapable, or no noise. Then they were tested on a series of 20 patterned anagrams. Depressed-no-noise Ss were much poorer at solving individual anagrams and seeing the pattern than nondepressed-no-noise Ss. Inescapable noise produced parallel deficits in nondepressed Ss relative to escapable or no noise, but inescapable noise did not increase impairment in depressed Ss. Findings support the learned helplessness model of depression, which claims that a belief in independence between responding and reinforcement is central to the etiology, symptoms, and cure of reactive depression. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The roles of self-esteem and self-consciousness in the Wortman-Brehm model of reactance and learned helplessness.

Studied the conditions under which failure would enhance or inhibit subsequent task performance. Based on the theory of C. B. Wortman and J. W. Brehm (1975), it was expected that small amounts of failure would produce reactance (manifested by improved performance at a subsequent task); large amounts would lead to learned helplessness (i.e., impaired later performance). It was further expected that individual differences in self-esteem and private self-consciousness would serve as moderator variables for the effects. In Exp I, 78 college students were exposed to either a small amount or no failure before working on an anagrams task. As predicted, Ss high in self-consciousness, who showed greater reactance arousal in attitude change studies, performed better on the anagrams task than Ss low in self-consciousness in the small-failure condition, but not in the no-failure condition. In Exp II, 119 Ss were pretreated with either a small amount of failure, an extended amount of failure, or no failure before working on the task. A significant Self-Esteem by Helplessness Training interaction emerged. Low self-esteem Ss (low SEs) performed marginally better than did high SEs in the small-failure condition but significantly worse than high SEs in the extended-failure condition. Questionnaire data from Exp II were consistent with the notion that enhanced performance reflected reactance, whereas impaired performance signified helplessness. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance impairment after failure: Mechanism and sex differences.

Conducted 2 experiments in which 120 male and 120 female 7th graders completed 10 solvable or unsolvable matching-figures tasks and then tried to solve 15 anagrams described as highly or moderately difficult. In Exp I, 120 Ss did not have the option to give up on an anagram before the allotted time had elapsed. No performance impairment in response to failure was found. In Exp II with another 120 Ss, Ss were able to give up and choose to move on to the next anagram. Boys performed significantly worse after failure when anagrams were described as moderately difficult. They performed as well as Ss who completed solvable matching figures, however, when the 2nd task was described as very difficult. These data for the boys were consistent with M. Zuckerman's (see record 1980-28101-001) ego-threat hypothesis. Girls followed the pattern associated with learned helplessness (e.g., C. S. Dweck and N. D. Reppucci; see record 1973-26160-001), performing less well when the 2nd task was described as very difficult. The presence or absence of an observer had no effect. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Required high effort increases subsequent persistence and reduces cheating.

Two experiments examined the effect of the degree of effort required in preliminary tasks on the persistence and cheating in subsequent tasks. Undergraduates (N?=?276) were administered mathematics problems and perceptual identifications requiring high effort for one group and low effort for another group. A control group received neither of these tasks. All Ss then received an anagram task in which success depended on persistence with no opportunity to cheat (Exp I) or success was improbable and depended on cheating (Exp II). In Exp I, increasing the degree of effort required in the preliminary tasks increased the number of anagrams subsequently solved and increased the duration spent on unsolved anagrams. In Exp II, requiring high effort in the preliminary tasks decreased how often Ss falsified their performances. Results suggest that honesty may be increased by generalized effects of rewarded high efforts. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional style and the generality of learned helplessness.

According to the logic of the attribution reformulation of learned helplessness, the interaction of 2 factors influences whether helplessness experienced in one situation will transfer to a new situation. The model predicts that people who exhibit a style of attributing negative outcomes to global factors will show helplessness deficits in new situations that are either similar or dissimilar to the original situation in which they were helpless. In contrast, people who exhibit a style of attributing negative outcomes to only specific factors will show helplessness deficits in situations that are similar, but not dissimilar, to the original situation in which they were helpless. To test these predictions, 2 studies were conducted in which undergraduates with either a global or specific attributional style for negative outcomes (as measured by the Attributional Style Questionnaire) were given 1 of 3 pretreatments in the typical helplessness triadic design: controllable bursts of noise, uncontrollable bursts of noise, or no noise. Ss were also administered the Beck Depression Inventory. In Exp I, 108 Ss were tested for helplessness deficits in a test situation similar to the pretreatment setting, whereas in Exp II, 60 Ss were tested in a test situation dissimilar to the pretreatment setting. Findings are consistent with predictions of the reformulated helplessness theory. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sampling of similar and dissimilar comparison persons and objects as a function of the generality of attribution goal.

Conducted an information-search procedure in which Ss were asked to seek information regarding persons and objects in order to validate a given person or object cause. Four hypotheses were tested: When asked to validate a person cause, Ss are more likely to select distinctiveness information than target-object consensus information. When asked to validate an object cause, Ss are more likely to select target-object consensus information than distinctiveness information. As the generality of person inference increases, progressively dissimilar object comparisons are sought. As the generality of object inference increases, progressively dissimilar person comparisons are sought. In Exp I, 26 undergraduates read attitude statements and answered judgment goals or questions about the statement's generality or object inference. 52 undergraduates in Exp II completed a similar task. The first 3 hypotheses were supported in both Exp I and Exp II, whereas the 4th hypothesis received only mixed support in Exp I and was not supported in Exp II. Unlike Exp I, Exp II did not include cues suggesting the relevant type of information to be sought. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness, test anxiety, and acknowledgment of contingencies.

72 undergraduates designated as high or low test anxious (Test Anxiety Questionnaire) received either controllable of uncontrollable noise in a typical helplessness induction. Half of them subsequently received an acknowledgment of contingencies in the induction task, and the other half did not. An anagram task was then administered. Test anxiety theory successfully predicted group differences in anagram performance: Only high-test-anxious Ss were debilitated by the helplessness induction. The effects of providing acknowledgment of contingencies proved ambiguous, but this may have been due to the wording of the acknowledgment and the susceptibility of high-test-anxious Ss to social dimensions of the task situation. Because of differences in terminology, learned helplessness theory has failed to take into account a large body of literature that has similarly employed experimenter-induced failure, and there are numerous competing explanations for impairments following a helplessness induction. Test anxiety theory suggests that the deficits underlying impaired performance are likely to be attentional in nature. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathic mediation of helping: A two-stage model.

Proposes a 2-stage model of empathic mediation of helping behavior, which holds that taking the perspective of a person in need increases empathic emotion; this in turn increases helping. Ss in 2 experiments learned of another person's need from taped radio broadcasts and were subsequently given an opportunity to offer help to that person. The experiments used different strategies for manipulating empathic emotional response to the other's plight. In Exp I, using 44 male and female undergraduates, the empathic emotion of some Ss was experimentally reduced by a misattribution of arousal technique; in Exp II, using 33 female undergraduates, the empathic emotion of some Ss was experimentally increased by a false feedback of arousal technique. Results of each experiment support the proposed model. Ss who experienced the most empathic emotion also offered the most help. Results of Exp I indicate that perspective taking did not directly affect helping; it affected helping only through its effect on empathic emotion. Motivational implications are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physiological correlates of learned helplessness in man.

Assessed physiological correlates (heart rate, skin resistance, and GSR) of learned helplessness in 48 undergraduates. One group of Ss was pretreated with a series of inescapable aversive tones, and the degree of impairment was measured on a subsequent solvable anagram solution task. These Ss were compared with a group pretreated with escapable aversive tones and a control group which passively listened to the tones without attempting to escape them. Results replicate the learned helplessness effect: The group pretreated with inescapable tones demonstrated greatly impaired performance at solving anagrams relative to the other groups. Moreover, the learned-helplessness group demonstrated lower tonic skin conductance levels, smaller phasic skin conductance responses, and more spontaneous electrodermal activity relative to the group pretreated with escapable tones. These are symptoms which some researchers have claimed to be associated with clinical depression. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol consumption as a self-handicapping strategy.

Two experiments with 128 male undergraduates evaluated the self-handicapping hypothesis that alcohol consumption varies directly with individuals' uncertainty of their ability to perform successfully. In a 2–3 factorial design, Exp I manipulated difficulty of an initial intellectual test (insolvable or solvable), feedback regarding test performance (success or none), and instructions regarding the difficulty of a retest (identical to or harder than the initial test). Ss then received access to an alcoholic beverage (self-handicapping option) and to study materials (performance-enhancing option). The experiment terminated before the retest. Results indicate that when a performance-enhancing option is available, Ss generally do not use alcohol to self-handicap. Exp II omitted the study option and manipulated the test difficulty and retest instruction variables. All Ss received success feedback. Results show that Ss use alcohol to self-handicap when denied access to a performance-enhancing option. With important qualifications, these data support the self-handicapping hypothesis of human drinking behavior. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of positive and negative thinking on performance in an achievement situation.

To induce different types of thinking, 151 undergraduates were given either positive or negative self-referent statements about competence in either an achievement or a social interaction situation and were asked to recall an experience in which they had had the thoughts conveyed by these statements. They then completed an anagrams task that was described as a measure of intelligence and verbal ability. Before doing the anagrams, half the Ss in each condition predicted how well they might perform, whereas the other half performed the task without generating predictions. Negative thinkers tended to perform better than positive thinkers when either (a) Ss' thoughts were achievement-related and they did not predict their performance on the anagrams task before engaging in it, or (b) Ss' thoughts pertained to social relations and they did predict their performance on the anagrams task. In no case did positive thinking lead to significantly better performance than negative thinking. Results suggest that the effects of positive and negative thinking were mediated by the influence of these different types of thinking on the motivation to perform well on the achievement task. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and personality factors in the delay of gratification of hemodialysis patients.

Based on W. Mischel's (see record 1985-06679-001) social learning analysis of the process of delayed gratification in children and A. Bandura's (see record 1977-25733-001) self-efficacy theory, the present authors developed a model of delayed gratification in adults and tested it on 53 20–68 yr old dialysis patients who were required to comply with a stringent regimen of fluid-intake to remain alive. It was hypothesized that Ss' self-evaluations of their past compliance and their efficacy expectations would be associated with their actual delay behavior. Underlying these process-regulating cognitions would be stable competencies, such as learned resourcefulness. Ss evaluated their fluid intake compliance, their efficacy expectations, and their health beliefs. Resourcefulness was assessed by a self-control schedule. Actual fluid-intake compliance was reliably assessed by the mean body-weight increase between dialyses during the 3 mo prior to the study and during 2 follow-up periods. Results support the model and show that self-efficacy expectations were related to persistence with the fluid diet and to Ss' self-evaluation of their past adherence behavior and resourcefulness. Although the path model suggested a causal pattern, the correlational nature of the study precluded any conclusions on a cause–effect relationship. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immunization against learned helplessness in man.

Immunization against learned helplessness has been found in dogs and rats; the present experiments tested for the same effect in humans. In Exp I, 38 college students were divided into 4 groups. A helplessness control group received no immunization training, whereas 3 other groups received either a 0, 50, or 100% schedule of success on a series of discrimination problems. All groups were then given insoluble problems and were subsequently tested on a human shuttle box. An immunization effect against helplessness was produced; the 50% immunization schedule produced performance significantly superior to the helplessness control and 0% groups. The 100% group failed to produce the immunization effect. Exp II with 45 Ss involved a partial replication of the 1st experiment, but anagram solutions were used as the test task. Also, control groups based on the triadic design were included in Exp II. Results for the 2nd experiment essentially paralleled the results from Exp I. Immunization effects were shown following a 50% schedule but not following either 0 or 100% immunization schedule. These findings lend substantial support to the stimulus–response explanation of helplessness phenomena over the expectancy-of-independence explanation. Implications of the study for the helplessness model of depression and for strategies in clinical therapy are also discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional versus preattributional variables in self-esteem and depression: A comparison and test of learned helplessness theory.

Tested, in 2 samples of undergraduates (92 in Exp I and 55 in Exp II), predictions made according to the attributional reformulation of learned helplessness theory concerning the cognitive determinants of low self-esteem and depression. Real and hypothetical life events were used. Ss were administered the Beck Depression Inventory, a checklist of life events, and a self-esteem scale. As predicted, internal attributions for hypothetical success and failure were correlated with self-esteem, but there was an unexpected correlation with global attributions for negative outcomes. Two preattributional variables, consensus and consistency judgments, were also related to self-esteem and depression. In contrast to learned helplessness theory, a path analysis indicated that these variables were not attributionally mediated. Consensus judgment was as strong a predictor of depression as the number of recent distressing life events that Ss had experienced. Other evidence that links depression to perceived low consensus is described, and a possible etiological role for this variable is outlined. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reversal of cognitive and affective deficits associated with depression and learned helplessness by mood elevation in patients

Therapeutic implications of the learned helplessness model of depression were tested in a clinical population (48 male medical and psychiatric patients of a VA hospital). In pretreatment, 2 groups of nondepressed medical patients waited, 2 groups of nondepressed medical patients received helplessness training, and 2 groups of psychiatric patients (diagnosed as primary affective disorder) waited. In treatment, Ss received either E. Velten's (1968) mood-elation procedure as "therapy" or Velten's (1968) mood-neutral procedure as placebo. Performance on cognitive and mood tasks was assessed. Three separate administrations of the Depression Adjective Check List indicated that helplessness training induced depressive affect, and the mood elation procedure decreased depressive affect for both helpless and depressed Ss. The mood neutral procedure and the waiting periods were associated with no affective changes. On the cognitive (anagrams) task, performance deficits were associated with helplessness and depression but were reversed by mood elation. Results are interpreted as consistent with the learned helplessness model of depression. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance, cognition, and physiological responding in test anxiety.

Autonomic (skin conductance and resistance, heart rate, and heart rate variability), self-report (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and causal attributions of task performance), and performance (modified Stroop Color–Word Test and 8 difficult anagrams) measures of anxiety were collected from 36 test-anxious and 36 non-test-anxious (Test Anxiety Scale) female undergraduates in an analog testing situation under 3 experimental conditions. High-test-anxious (HTA) Ss performed more poorly and reported higher levels of anxious arousal and worry in the analog testing situation than low-test-anxious (LTA) Ss. Also, self-evaluations of test performance made by HTA Ss differed from those made by LTA Ss in being more negative and unrelated to actual test performance. However, HTA and LTA Ss showed virtually identical changes in electrodermal activity and heart rate in response to the stress of the testing situation. Only heart rate variability, which appeared to reflect differences in the cognitive and attentional responses of the test anxiety groups, successfully differentiated HTA and LTA Ss. Results support cognitive formulations of test anxiety and indicate that deficits in information processing associated with test anxiety do not result from maladaptive levels of autonomic arousal. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)