Learned helplessness occurs when an organism learns that escape from aversive stimulation and/or the occurrence of reinforcement are independent of response (noncontingent). The learned helplessness model was applied to a classroom setting to examine its relationship to student performance. Response/outcome contingency conditions were combined with videotape lectures in which the instructors varied their expressiveness and lecture content. Subjects took an analogies test which provided contingent, noncontingent, or no feedback. They completed a teacher evaluation, an examination, and an attribution questionnaire. Results indicate that contingency training influences various classroom conditions in terms of student ratings, achievement, and attribution. Subjects without contingency training gave lower estimates of their performance and considered ability and effort to contribute less to their test results than did subjects with such training. (Author/CS)