Mothers who exhibited high illusory control showed increased susceptibility to learned helplessness when they tried to solve a child-care task. The early attributional and behavioral style characteristic of high illusory control may be a precursor to overcontrolling, interfering behaviors during the toddler years. (RH)

Using a version of the "learned helplessness" paradigm, assesses mothers' performance on a solvable task following pretreatments that involved exposure to an infant cry but that differed in the mothers' ability to exert control over termination of the cry. Proposes that learned helplessness models are relevant to the study of…

In order to investigate sex-role identity and learned helplessness as possible mediating factors affecting performance on formal operational tasks, the responses of 60 male and female adolescents were assessed. Contrary to expectations, the performances of individuals with feminine versus masculine sex roles did not differ significantly.…

Investigated the possibility that some kindergartners exhibit patterns of affective reactions associated with helplessness. Results indicated that, after they were criticized by their teachers, some kindergartners showed affective reactions and made self-evaluations associated with motivational helplessness. Reactions were related to conceptions…

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)

Examined the connection between chronic residential crowding and student adjustment, academic achievement, vulnerability to learned helplessness, blood pressure, and parent-child relationship in 10- to 12-year olds in urban India. Found that crowding was positively associated with blood pressure only among boys, and with learned helplessness only…

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)

Tested on preschoolers a goal-confidence model for older children that predicts achievement behavior during failure. Found that individual differences in achievement goals emerge very early. Children appeared to have developed a mechanism for selecting learning opportunities prior to formal school experience. (AA)

Three studies replicated and extended Dweck's findings regarding young children's responses to challenging achievement situations. Findings indicated that a composite of cognitive, behavioral, and affective helplessness indices at kindergarten age predicted helplessness 1 and 5 years later, above and beyond gender and kindergarten task ability.…