Examined the relationship of helplessness, locus of control, depression, and voluntary participation in therapy. Results confirmed the relationship between helplessness, locus of control, and depression and suggested patients with greater degrees of helplessness were less likely to take an active role in treatment. (JAC)

What happens when explanations externalizing the cause of one's achievement failures are no longer credible? College undergraduates experiencing successive subjective failure in classroom tests gave postdictive explanations for failures, indicated shame, and rated expectancy for future success. Self-worth predictions suggest despair occurs when…

Rotter's social learning theory is applied to the learned helplessness paradigm, and is used to analyze (1) expectancy change processes occurring during helplessness training and (2) the generalization of those changes to other situations. Literature on individual and situational differences is also reviewed. (Author/SS)

Tested attribution are driven by control motivation and that attributional activity increases following an experience with lack of control. Subjects were given high, low, or no helplessness training and tested for motivational variations. (Author/SS)

Compares M. E. P. Seligman's recent work on learned helplessness with N. R. F. Maier's 30-year-old work on frustration behavior. Notes striking similarities between the two approaches. Concludes that the learned helplessness model might explain the "abnormal fixations" that Maier reported. (Author/RL)

Brain-based learning strategies (learner choice, movement, small groups) may be inappropriate in corrections for security reasons. Problems encountered in correctional education (attention deficit disorder, learned helplessness) complicate the use of these strategies. Incorporating brain-based instruction in these settings requires creativity and…

Surveys attitudes towards and beliefs about dyslexia among Adult Basic Education (ABE) teachers and providers. Finds doubt, uncertainty and confusion about dyslexia and considerable misgiving. Discusses attribution theory and learned helplessness in the context of ABE. Argues that a diagnosis of dyslexia may be a maladaptive attribution and so…

The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, which measures perceived locus of control of academic outcomes, was administered to 28 emotionally handicapped (EH) and 25 learning disabled (LD)/EH children. Between group comparison revealed that EH children took significantly more personal responsibility for academic failure than did…

To explore the effects of depression and learned helplessness on cognitive task deficits, 66 community-residing elderly adults were categorized as depressed or nondepressed based on Beck Depression Inventory scores. After a pre-test battery measuring short-term memory and components of crystallized/fluid intelligence, the subjects responded to a…

A study was conducted to examine whether "Segment Three" (a minidocumentary series aired weekdays from 1977 to 1979 on the "NBC Nightly News") consisted of highly dramatic, conflict-oriented messages that emphasized and exaggerated the inability of individuals to predict and control their own lives (learned helplessness). The…

A study involving 30 learning disabled and 30 normally achieving grade four girls suggested that helplessness effects may be stronger for learning disabled than for normally achieving children. Comparison to an earlier study with grade four boys suggested the possibility of sex differences regarding effectiveness of helplessness alleviation…

This study describes an action research case study through which the dynamics of identifying and changing strongly held assumptions illustrate the differences between experiences that serve to strengthen beliefs from those that lead to learning. Theoretical considerations are presented linking cognitive schema, action science, attribution theory,…

Using three studies, examined the relationship between attitudes toward guns and fear of crime. Findings indicate a connection between fear of crime and attitudes toward guns: people higher in fear of crime favored gun control. Results also established a relationship between stereotypical beliefs about gun victims and support for gun control. (RJM)

This article is about the feelings of powerlessness that professionals feel to cure learning disability and to answer questions such as "why do I have a learning disability?". We describe how Emma showed us through role play what it was like to have learning difficulties. This article is interesting to people with learning disabilities because…