Assessed whether experimentally induced learned helplessness on a cognitive training task generalized to a situationally dissimilar social interaction test task. No significant differences were observed between groups on the subsequent test task, showing that helplessness failed to generalize. (Author/ABB)

Tested relation between attributions and types of depression postulated by reformulated learned helplessness theory versus an alternative in undergraduate college students (N=334). Results suggest inclusion of types of depression modestly increases support for one of hypotheses of reformulated theory but makes more questionable previously untested…

Perry and Dickens (1984) found that noncontingent-trained students perceived they had less control and manifested a helpless attribution profile compared to contingent-trained students in a simulated college classroom. To examine the effects of varying amounts of noncontingent success on students' perceived control and attributions, 90 students at…

According to the learned helplessness hypothesis, organisms exposed to uncontrollable events learn the independence between their responses and environmental outcomes. This learning is believed to interfere with subsequent behavior. To further examine the dimension of uncontrollability, 48 college students were given solvable, unsolvable, or…

In recent years the college dormitory has become a popular setting for examining chronic effects of crowding and high density in humans. Possible differences between corridor- and suite-type residents were investigated to examine the degree to which corridor- and suite-design dormitories influence assertive behavior of the residents. It was…

The view that humans fail to solve certain types of problems because they are helpless and passive originated from a series of studies with animals; subsequent research attempted to replicate the findings of the learned helplessness behavior with humans. In an attempt to replicate and extend the Hiroto and Seligman (1975) study of humans exposed…

There is considerable debate regarding the effects of childhood sexual abuse on an individual's subsequent adjustment. To determine which variables are most useful in predicting subsequent adjustment of individuals who were involved in sexual experiences as children or adolescents, 59 female and 17 male undergraduates who reported having had a…

Two experiments investigated the relationship between the magnitude of motivation for control over the environment and tendency to derogate victims. Manipulated situational controllability and uncontrollability within a learned helplessness procedure and assessed derogation of a victimized stranger. Results indicated that motivation and need for…

The reluctance of depressed people to try hard may result not from their low expectancy for success, as Learned Helplessness Theory suggests, but rather from egotistic motivation to preserve whatever self-esteem they still have. Two studies were conducted using a paradigm which permitted a direct comparison of Learned Helplessness Theory and…

Tested efficiency of induced self-esteem in reducing various deficits caused by learned helplessness. Results indicated subjects who received induced self-esteem treatment showed significantly more deficit reversal. Results are discussed in relation to the usefulness of induced self-esteem as a form of treatment for helplessness depression.…

Examined factors thought to be related to adolescent suicidal ideation: absence or disruption of interpersonal attachments, conviction of personal helplessness, and sense of hopelessness. Found nearly 61 percent of 191 college students to have some suicidal ideation. Low- and moderate- to high-level ideators reported poorer parent relationships…

This paper surveys and evaluates the research since 1975 on college and university student suicidality in the United States. It focuses on factors which contribute to suicidality, preventive responses to suicide and how well the preventive responses address the contributing factors. Contributing factors examined include various feeling states…

Both external locus of control (i.e., a generalized expectancy that reinforcement is controlled by luck or fate instead of oneself) and internal locus of attribution (i.e., beliefs that success or failure result from an individual's actions rather than external causes) have been related to depression. To examine the relationship of attributions…

John Bowlby's theory of affectional bonding and the reformulated learned helplessness theory of depression were integrated into a multivariate model in order to expand the breadth of current attributional theories of depression. This retrospective study focused upon the quality of parent-child relations, the types of discipline parents employed,…

This study investigated the reformulated theory of learned helplessness, centering around attributional style in the cause of cognitive and emotional deficits. Subjects (N=58) were undergraduate and graduate psychology students at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Subjects were divided into an experimental group (N=30) who received…