Workplace bullying is a widespread phenomenon within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Employee tendency to remain silent is one of the most common reactions to workplace bullying. Yet, employee silence in the context of workplace bullying is poorly studied. Building on the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR) and the Learned Helplessness…

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…

What happens when explanations externalizing the cause of one's achievement failures are no longer credible? College undergraduates experiencing successive subjective failure in classroom tests gave postdictive explanations for failures, indicated shame, and rated expectancy for future success. Self-worth predictions suggest despair occurs when…

The motivational effects of failure were investigated. Students worked perceptual judgment problems, receiving varying levels of failure feedback on their work on unsolvable problems. Subjects assessed their success or failure at the task. Those who believed they had failed scored higher on a subsequent set of similar, but solvable, problems.…

In an historical examination of educational equity issues the authors examine why sex equity remains an unrealized goal, how teacher behavior affects equity, and why classrooms and campuses are not encouraging places for women. The lack of support for equity in the current political climate is also addressed. (SK)

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…

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…

Explored the Korean concepts of emotion "dapdaphada" and "uulhada," somewhat equivalent to helplessness and depression, respectively. Results with 50 Korean and 50 German undergraduates indicate that these terms are specific emotion words in the domain of sadness with no translation equivalent in German. (SLD)

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…

Investigated sex differences on the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale using factor analysis of student scores (N=194). Three factors emerged for females and five for males. Comparison with other studies shows item consistency on the first two factors which were the same for both sexes. (Author/JAC)

Examined the effects of escapable versus inescapable aversive stimuli (noise) on performance in relation to the conceptual complexity level of college students (N=60). Overall, results suggested that conceptual complexity level mediated the experience of learned helplessness. Conceptually complex students were less negatively affected than…

A critical analysis of theoretical and methodological issues in research on learned helplessness is presented. As studied in achievement settings using achievement tasks, learned helplessness is perceived as maladaptive behavior. It has not been studied as an adaptive response to situational demands. New directions and educational implications are…

A discussion of mathematics anxiety and learned helplessness in mathematics focuses on student failure and avoidance in college mathematics learning. It explores possible causes and suggests classroom activities to foster students' interest and success. (MSE)