The elimination of learned helplessness deficits as a function of induced self-esteem

The efficiency of induced self-esteem in reducing various deficits caused by learned helplessness was tested in this study. Sixty undergraduate students were divided into three equal groups. The first group received uncontrollability treatment, the second received controllability treatment, and the third received no treatment. The subjects in the first two groups were asked to reduce the anxiety reaction of a confederate, as shown on an oscilloscope, by talking to him. The anxiety waves were shown on the oscilloscope and were preprogrammed so that subjects in the uncontrollability treatment group experienced lack of control over the results, while the ones in the controllability group were led to belive that they successfully controlled the changes of the confederate's anxiety. Then, half of the subjects in each of the three groups received positive feedback on their personality, while the other half received no feedback. In the last phase all subjects participated in a word recognition task using a tachistoscope operated by a combined push-button and microphone device. Response latency, number of correct identifications, and persistence in the task were recorded. In addition, the subjects completed a mood scale. The results indicate that subjects who received induced self-esteem treatment showed significantly more deficit reversal as reflected in response latency, persistence, feelings of potency, and sadness. The results are discussed in relation to (a) the assumption regarding the similarities between learned helplessness and depression, and (b) the usefulness of induced self-esteem as a form of treatment for helplessness depression.     

Three accounts of the learned helplessness effect

Two experiments tested predictions drawn from test anxiety theory, learned helplessness theory, and Wortman and Brehm's (1975) integration of helplessness and reactance theories. Experiment 1 demonstrated that performance deficits predicted by learned helplessness do not rely on experimenter-induced failure. It also showed such deficits to be unrelated either to negative affect following exposure to pretreatment or to causal attributions about pretreatment task performance. Experiment 2 showed that experience of uncontrollability need not result in impaired performance, because failure on an unimportant task did not produce the deficits predicted by learned helplessness theory. This result provides qualified support for the integrative model. Finally, because the subjective measures used in Experiment 2 were not consistent with performance measures, the reliability of self-reports is questioned.     

Persistence training: a partial reinforcement procedure for reversing learned helplessness and depression

This article examines the relative merits of either partial or continuous (total) success therapy as a device for reversing learned helplessness and depression in humans. College students experienced (a) no treatment followed by either abbreviated (20 trials) or extended (40 trials) continuous success therapy, (b) soluble problems followed by either abbreviated or extended continuous success therapy, (c) insoluble problems followed by either abbreviated or extended continuous success therapy, or (d) insoluble problems followed be either abbreviated or extended partial success therapy. Subsequently, subjects in all eight groups received 40 escape-extinction trials in which aversive tones were not controllable. The results of this experiment indicated that both continuous and partial success schedules were effective in reversing depressed responding (helplessness) induced by prior exposure to insoluble problems. However, only the partial success therapy schedules produced persistent escape responding in extinction. Also, across therapy procedures, extended therapy generated more response persistence in escape extinction than did abbreviated therapy. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed, and a compatible new treatment program, labeled persistence training, is introduced.     

Repression-sensitization differences in recovery from learned helplessness.

The performance of repressors and sensitizers on a solvable anagram task was assessed after either a short delay (0 to 30 min) or a long delay (2 to 6 hr) following a standard learned helplessness induction. Results indicated that all subjects exposed to the learned helplessness induction exhibited performance deficits, compared with control subjects exposed to no induction. Furthermore, subjects who were tested after the short delay did not perform as well as subjects tested after a long delay. No difference in overall anagram performance was found between repressors and sensitizers. Consistent with theoretical predictions, however, the anagram performance of repressor subjects was significantly better in the long-delay than in the short-delay condition; this significant recovery effect between short- and long-delay conditions was not obtained for sensitizer subjects. Possible theoretical mechanisms for these effects and implications for future research are noted.     

Situation similarity and the generalization of learned helplessness

An experiment is reported which investigated the effects of situation similarity on learned helplessness. After initial pretreatment strong helplessness effects were found on a similar, but not on a dissimilar, test task. It was concluded that situation similarity is an important determinant of the generalization of the learned helplessness phenomenon.     

Laboratory-induced learned helplessness attenuates approach motivation as indexed by posterior versus frontal theta activity

Research suggests that midline posterior versus frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) theta activity (PFTA) may reflect a novel neurophysiological index of approach motivation. Elevated PFTA has been associated with approach-related tendencies both at rest and during laboratory tasks designed to enhance approach motivation. PFTA is sensitive to changes in dopamine signaling within the fronto-striatal neural circuit, which is centrally involved in approach motivation, reward processing, and goal-directed behavior. To date, however, no studies have examined PFTA during a laboratory task designed to reduce approach motivation or goal-directed behavior. Considerable animal and human research supports the hypothesis put forth by the learned helplessness theory that exposure to uncontrollable aversive stimuli decreases approach motivation by inducing a state of perceived uncontrollability. Accordingly, the present study examined the effect of perceived uncontrollability (i.e., learned helplessness) on PFTA. EEG data were collected from 74 participants (mean age = 19.21 years; 40 females) exposed to either Controllable (n = 26) or Uncontrollable (n = 25) aversive noise bursts, or a No-Noise Condition (n = 23). In line with prediction, individuals exposed to uncontrollable aversive noise bursts displayed a significant decrease in PFTA, reflecting reduced approach motivation, relative to both individuals exposed to controllable noise bursts or the No-Noise Condition. There was no relationship between perceived uncontrollability and frontal EEG alpha asymmetry, another commonly used neurophysiological index of approach motivation. Results have implications for understanding the neurophysiology of approach motivation and establishing PFTA as a neurophysiological index of approach-related tendencies.     

The effects of learned helplessness on the processing of a persuasive message

The current study examines the effects of exposure to unsolvable problems on the processing of a persuasive message. Participants exposed to either unsolvable failure or no-feedback tasks were presented with one of four versions of an advertisement about a hair shampoo and rated their attitude towards this product. Two aspects of the message were manipulated: the quality of arguments (strong, weak) and the attractiveness of the communicator (attractive, non-attractive). In addition, participants rated their anxiety and the frequency of off-task thoughts during the experiment. Attitude towards the target product of participants in the failure condition was less affected by the argument’s quality and more influenced by communicator attractiveness than the attitude of participants in the no-feedback condition. Participants exposed to failures reported more anxiety and task-related worries than those exposed to no-feedback, and these ratings were found to mediate the effects of failure on the processing of a persuasive message. Results were discussed in terms of Learned Helplessness theories and the Elaboration Likelihood Model.     

The effects of learned helplessness on the processing of a persuasive message

The current study examines the effects of exposure to unsolvable problems on the processing of a persuasive message. Participants exposed to either unsolvable failure or no-feedback tasks were presented with one of four versions of an advertisement about a hair shampoo and rated their attitude towards this product. Two aspects of the message were manipulated: the quality of arguments (strong, weak) and the attractiveness of the communicator (attractive, non-attractive). In addition, participants rated their anxiety and the frequency of off-task thoughts during the experiment. Attitude towards the target product of participants in the failure condition was less affected by the argument’s quality and more influenced by communicator attractiveness than the attitude of participants in the no-feedback condition. Participants exposed to failures reported more anxiety and task-related worries than those exposed to no-feedback, and these ratings were found to mediate the effects of failure on the processing of a persuasive message. Results were discussed in terms of Learned Helplessness theories and the Elaboration Likelihood Model.     

Learned helplessness as a schedule-shift effect

The essentials of learned helplessness theory are described and supporting evidence surveyed. It is shown that two main empirical phenomena are associated with learned helplessness: a low rate of responding in laboratory animals following numerous discrete trials with continuous free relief and in human subjects following continuous nonrelief/reward or traditional extinction. The explanation Seligman and Maier give for these findings is critically analyzed and found to be unsupported at several critical points. The “patchwork” nature of the theory and observations is considered and it is contended that what is new in learned helplessness research is a schedule-shift effect like that observed when extinction follows partial reinforcement. A schedule-shift discrimination theory of “learned helplessness” effects is offered which is closely parallel to a widely accepted explanation of other schedule-shift effects, notably the partial reinforcement extinction effect. Although the behavioral effects of some schedule shifts resemble clinical depression, the latter is a more complex behavioral phenomena than the former which in turn has broader relevance to human behavior than just depression.     

The learned helplessness hypothesis: A framework in disguise

This article focuses on the theoretical statements of the reformulated helplessness hypothesis (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978). The argument is that the reformulated hypothesis should be regarded primarily as a psychological framework. However, most interpretations of the hypothesis have treated it as a specific, experimental model. Consequently, some of the more essential ideas presented in the original helplessness statements have been criticized inappropriately. If the helplessness position is acknowledged as a framework, the possibility of resolving some of these questions will be more realistic. Examples of research strategies which rely on interdisciplinary approaches are presented as potential means to this end.     

The role of extraversion in the development of learned helplessness

An experiment is reported which investigated the effect of the individual fdifference variable of introversion-extraversion on a typical learned-helplessness induction procedure. It was found that introverts displayed a much more marked helplessness effect than extraverts, in accord with predictions made by the Brebner-Cooper model of extraversion in terms of inhibition and excitation deriving from stimulus analysis and response organization. It was concluded that there are individual differences in response to uncontrollable outcomes which are not taken into account by the current theories of learned helplessness, and further, that these may be mediated by characteristics of the actual task employed.     

Immunization against learned helplessness in the cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

Cockroaches exposed to one day of escapable shock prior to three days of inescapable shock did not become helpless on a shuttlebox-escape task. Like dogs and rats, cockroaches are immunized against learned helplessness by prior experience with escapable shock.     

Effects of learned helplessness training on instrumental heart rate control in humans

In Experiment 1, subjects who received feedback contingent on short interbeat intervals (relative to a baseline period) learned to accelerate their heart rates, but subjects who received noncontingent feedback did not. In Experiment 2, subjects who were exposed to noncontingent aversive noises later showed significant performance deficits on both an instrumental and a cognitive task. Attributional style predicted helplessness deficits on the cognitive but not the instrumental task. Experiment 3 demonstrated that experimentally induced helplessness interferes with biofeedback learning. Attributional style did not predict the occurrence of helplessness deficits in this context. Results are discussed in terms of the nature of biofeedback training and the range of behaviors that learned helplessness training affects.     

Causal attribution, cognitive interference, and the generalization of learned helplessness

We assessed the role of off-task cognitions in mediating the performance effects of global and specific attributions for failure. In Experiment 1, subjects were divided into global and specific attributors and were exposed to either no feedback or failure feedback. In Experiment 2, subjects were exposed to no feedback or to unsolvable problems wherein they received attribution for failure to specific or global causes. Experiment 3 added a condition in which subjects were restrained from engaging in off-task cognitions. Results showed that exposure to unsolvable problems deteriorated performance and increased off-task cognitions mainly among subjects who attributed failure to global causes. In addition, the enhancement of off-task cognitions interfered with performance following unsolvable problems. The introduction of instructions that discouraged subjects from engaging in off-task cognitions eliminated the detrimental effects of global attribution. Results are discussed in terms of test anxiety and excuse-making conceptualizations of learned helplessness.     

Forced exercise blocks learned helplessness in the cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

For three consecutive days, two groups of adult female cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) (ns = 10) received inescapable shock. 24 hr. later one group was exposed to 10 min. of forced exercise on a treadmill while the other group received no exercise. Both groups were then run in a shuttlebox escape task. The cockroaches exposed to forced exercise did not become helpless in the shuttlebox escape task.     

Sex role identity and the decision to regain control among women: a learned helplessness investigation

In an investigation focusing on women's attempts to regain control of their environments, women from four sex role identity groups underwent either an initial loss of control (helpless) or control (nonhelpless) experience. Subsequently, they were allowed to choose their role in a team problem-solving task. They could either (a) have total control over the team's decisions, (b) have no control over the team's decisions, or (c) not participate in the task. Compared to women low on masculinity, women high on masculinity chose to be in control of team problem-solving in both the helpless and nonhelpless conditions. Particularly striking, none of the 14 feminine-sex-typed women chose to control the team's decisions in the helpless condition, whereas 10 of the 14 masculine-sex-typed women made this choice. Results are discussed relative to the high rates of depression among women.     

Inner speech as a learned skill

Three experiments are reported which address the problem of defining a role for inner speech. Experiments 1 and 2 establish that inner speech is acquired by normally developing readers between the ages of 8 and 11, and that both slow and fast readers show a similar pattern of acquistition, but do so at a different rate from normal readers. We suggest that the development of inner speech accompanies a strategy of reading aloud “with expression”; and that it is a manifestation of the need to prestructure oral utterances. These will thus contain the lexical items visible on the page within an appropriate prosodic envelope. Both segmental and suprasegmental phonemes contribute to meaning of spoken and, by analogy, written language. Experiment 3 showed that children at this critical point in learning to read comprehended text better when certain prosodic features were made visible on the text. Prosodic restructureing may thus be an important skill acquired by young readers as they progress toward fluent, silent adult reading.     

Attributional processes in the learned helplessness paradigm: behavioral effects of global attributions

Following the learned helplessness paradigm, I assessed in this study the effects of global and specific attributions for failure on the generalization of performance deficits in a dissimilar situation. Helplessness training consisted of experience with noncontingent failures on four cognitive discrimination problems attributed to either global or specific causes. Experiment 1 found that performance in a dissimilar situation was impaired following exposure to globally attributed failure. Experiment 2 examined the behavioral effects of the interaction between stable and global attributions of failure. Exposure to unsolvable problems resulted in reduced performance in a dissimilar situation only when failure was attributed to global and stable causes. Finally, Experiment 3 found that learned helplessness deficits were a product of the interaction of global and internal attribution. Performance deficits following unsolvable problems were recorded when failure was attributed to global and internal causes. Results were discussed in terms of the reformulated learned helplessness model.     

Attributional versus preattributional variables in self-esteem and depression: a comparison and test of learned helplessness theory

Predictions made according to the attributional reformulation of learned helplessness theory concerning the cognitive determinants of low self-esteem and depression were tested in two samples of undergraduates; real and hypothetical life events were used. As predicted, internal attributions for hypothetical success and failure were correlated with self-esteem, but there was an unexpected correlation with global attributions for negative outcomes. Two "preattributional" variables, consensus and consistency judgments, were also related to self-esteem and depression. In contrast to learned helplessness theory, a path analysis indicated that these variables were not attributionally mediated. Consensus judgment was as strong a predictor of depression as the number of recent distressing life events that subjects had experienced. Other evidence that links depression to perceived low consensus is described, and a possible etiological role for this variable is outlined.     

The role of perceptions and attributions for response-outcome noncontingency in learned helplessness: A commentary and discussion

Three papers in the Journal of Personality (Oakes & Curtis, 1982; Tennen, Drum, Gillen, & Stanton, 1982; Tennen, Gillen, & Drum, 1982) report that behavioral deficits characteristic of learned helplessness occur independently of perceptions of and attributions for noncontingency. The present article discusses the problems for the cognitive mediational component of helplessness theory raised by these three papers. It is argued that while these papers do not seriously challenge helplessness theory because they fail to test adequately the central proposition of the model, they point to the theory's need for greater elaboration of the processes or mechanisms linking objective experiences, perceptions, attributions, expectations, and behavioral effects of uncontrollability. Suggestions for some of the additional mediational processes a revised helplessness theory should incorporate are offered, followed by a discussion of the role of these processes in leading to the relatively greater support found for perceptions and attributions as mediators of behavioral helplessness in natural vs. laboratory environments.