Reviews a series of studies documenting that key aspects of helpless reactions to failure are present in preschool and early elementary school children. Proposes a preliminary model in which a general conception of self and the notion of this self as an object of contingent worth are sufficient conditions for helplessness. (HTH)

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…