Explores the topic of learned helplessness in children. Discusses these counselor strategies for helping children with learned helplessness: develop realistic attributions, provide feedback, provide success experiences, provide microcomputer experiences, and set realistic goals and expectations. (ABL)

Tested the hypothesis that psychological adjustment to epilepsy would be a joint function of subjects' (N=50) perceived repertoire of self-control skills and the extent to which they were exposed to uncontrollable seizures. Results showed that high-resourceful epileptics exposed to lower frequencies of seizures coped better with their disability.…

Following an incentive (low, high) manipulation, college students received response-outcome contingency training. All students then observed a lecture. Postlecture results indicated that the high- compared to the low-expressive lecturer increased achievement and internal locus in contingent but not noncontingent students for low-incentive…

Personality and behavioral consequences of learned helplessness were monitored in children experiencing failure in school. The predictive quality of learned helplessness theory was compared with that of value expectancy theories. Low self-concept was predicted significantly by school failure, internal attributions for failure, and external…

The article explores attribution theory and the concept of learned helplessness in teaching learning disabled individuals. Suggestions are given for areas of future research with learning disabled populations. The discussion includes current teaching techniques which may be related to the self regulatory behaviors and perception of personal…

Results from an experimental study involving 120 third, seventh, and eleventh grade parochial school girls showed that for third-grade females, short-term failure experiences are relatively transitory; however for females around the age of adolescence, helplessness and egotism appear to undertake a significant role in influencing behavior. (IAH)

The relationship between epistemological beliefs and learned helplessness and between conceptual understanding and application reasoning in conceptual change learning were investigated for 212 high school science students. Results support the importance of epistemological beliefs in predicting conceptual change learning. Implications for science…

Two studies had children role-play successful and unsuccessful tasks to test the hypothesis that both criticism and praise that conveyed person or trait judgments could send a message of contingent worth and undermine subsequent coping. Found that 5- to 6-year olds displayed significantly more "helpless" responses after person criticism or praise…

Recent work in attribution theory has shown the importance of not only the distinction between beliefs in internal and external causes, but also between relatively fixed, stable causes and those more unstable and subject to change. The relationships of causal attributions for success and failure in achievement and social affiliation with…

In recent years the college dormitory has become a popular setting for examining chronic effects of crowding and high density in humans. Possible differences between corridor- and suite-type residents were investigated to examine the degree to which corridor- and suite-design dormitories influence assertive behavior of the residents. It was…

Peer and adult evaluators were used to examine sex differences in responses of 108 fifth graders to failure feedback. Performance in boys improved with feedback from adult agents but did not change with peer feedback. Performance in girls improved with peer feedback but showed little improvement with adult feedback. (GO)

To prevent learned helplessness in learning disabled students, teachers can share responsibilities with the students, train students to reinforce themselves for effort and self control, and introduce opportunities for changing counterproductive attitudes. (CL)

Passivity in learning disabled children is identified as either inborn or as "learned helplessness," and the role of the teacher in overcoming passivity is noted. Teachers can help students understand themselves, become active agents in learning, and use self monitoring devices. (CL)

The essentials of learned helplessness theory are described and supporting evidence surveyed. The explanation Seligman and Maier give for these findings is critically analyzed. A schedule-shift discrimination theory of learned helplessness effects is also discussed. (Author)

A study into the effects of physical exercise on levels of depression in older adults showed that greater physical activity is a factor in improving emotional and physical well-being. Findings indicate that there is significant improvement in the emotional states of those older individuals who participated in the physical exercise program. (JN)