Examines the stability of individual differences in test anxiety and learned helplessness of 82 children in third grade and later in fifth grade. Results indicate that teacher reports of helplessness had the strongest and most consistent relation to concurrent achievement and to achievement test scores two years later. (RJC)

Addresses the relationship of fear to certain outdoor adventure activities that are a part of some environmental education programs. Describes the construct of fear, its use in outdoor environmental programs, and the results of two recent studies on fear. (TW)

Both cognitive and learned helplessness models of depression stress the importance of low self-esteem in the etiology of depression and depressive symptomatology. To investigate the correlations and causal relationship of low self-esteem to depressive cognition, equal groups of low, medium, and high self-esteem college students (N=135; 89 female,…

Describes the theory and known influences on learned helplessness, particularly in the mathematics field, and discusses prevention and remediation with respect to this phenomenon. (PK)

Loneliness has been implicated as a central causal factor in depression, suicide, social problems, physical illness and general maladjustment. To investigate the correlates of loneliness in gifted adolescents, 175 adolescents (aged 14-17) who had been separated from their homes to participate in a special academic program completed a battery of…

Following a traditional learned helplessness paradigm, subjects initially tried to terminate random bursts of noise using a button-pressing manipulandum and next tried to solve 20 serially-presented anagrams. The noise was broadcast at either a loud or soft intensity, and the subject's button-pressing was either successful (Escape condition) or…

Based on extensive research with children and young adults, this book examines adaptive and maladaptive cognitive-motivational patterns and shows how these patterns originate in people's self theories; their consequences for one's achievement, social relationships, and emotional well-being; their consequences for society; and the experiences that…

Hypothesizes that a conservative and individualistic orientation results in the fatalistic, alienated, and helpless outlook known as hopelessness. Provides extensive references to studies and theories characterizing conservatism and a work ethic belief as manifestations of an a maladaptive stage of psychological development. (MJP)

The teaching behavior and instructional methods of elementary school teachers were investigated to determine whether teachers with positive attitudes toward mathematics employ different methods in mathematics instruction than those with negative attitudes. Overall, teachers with negative attitudes employed methods that fostered dependency whereas…

This study of six mainstreamed students (in grades six and eight) with learning disabilities, their parents, and their teachers found considerable confusion and ambiguity concerning the impact of letter grades on students with learning disabilities. Students tended to feel helpless to achieve high grades yet blamed themselves for low grades.…