Research suggests that when dealing with personal setbacks, secondary control (SC) adjustment and acceptance beliefs can foster psychological wellbeing. However, little research has examined these beliefs, in combination, and how they impact students in their academic development. We conducted secondary analysis using an eight-month longitudinal…

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…

The effects of contingency training, instructor expressiveness, and student incentives on student achievement and attributions were investigated in a simulated college classroom. The following conditions were involved: a contingency manipulation resembling an aptitude test; an instructor lecture; two levels of student incentive; and an achievement…

The concept of an individual's perception of control was applied to the classroom performance of university students. The initial approach was to use a laboratory simulation of a university classroom to explore the following: (1) whether it is possible to induce feelings of helplessness in a university classroom; (2) effects that feelings of…

The effects of test performance feedback (contingent, noncontingent, control) and teacher expressiveness (low, high) on student achievement in a simulated college classroom were investigated. Subjects (N=75) wrote an analogies test which provided either contingent or noncontingent performance feedback, after which they viewed a videotaped lecture…

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…

Bernard Weiner and other motivation researchers have explored what happens to students when they try to explain why they succeed or fail. Causal attributions directly affect motivation and make the difference between helpless and mastery-oriented students. Suggestions are offered to educators to help change the attributions of helpless students…