Performance and motivational deficits of helplessness: The role of motivational orientations.

Abstract

The present study examined the hypothesis that the effect of failure feedback in producing learned helplessness would depend on the motivational orientation of a child. Extrinsically motivated children were predicted to exhibit performance decrement following a failure experience, whereas the opposite was predicted for intrinsically motivated children. In addition, success feedback was predicted to enhance subsequent performance only for the intrinsic group. Following success, failure, or no feedback on an activity reflecting spatial skills (an incomplete picture task), subjects' performance on an activity tapping different skills (i.e., anagrams) provided by a second experimenter served as the primary measure of helplessness. Subjects' intrinsic motivation in performing the incomplete picture task, a similar task (embedded figures) and a dissimilar task (dots-to-dots) was also examined. The results supported the predictions on both performance and intrinsic motivation measures. The results are discussed in terms of implications for learned helplessness as well as cognitive evaluation theories.

Cites (31)

1. Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation.
   Abramson, Lyn Y., Seligman, Martin E., Teasdale, John D. · 1978 · Journal of Abnormal Psychology
2. Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death
   Martin E. P. Seligman · 1975 · CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research)
3. Psychological perspectives on the self
   Jerry M. Suls, Anthony G. Greenwald · 1982 · Lawrence Erlbaum Associates eBooks
4. New directions in attribution research
   John H. Harvey, William John Ickes, Robert F. Kidd · 1976 · Medical Entomology and Zoology
5. The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes
   Deci, Edward L., Ryan, Richard M. · 1980 · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
6. A new self-report scale of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation in the classroom: Motivational and informational components.
   Susan Harter · 1981 · Developmental Psychology
7. The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness.
   Dweck, Carol S. · 1975 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
8. CHILDREN'S BELIEFS IN THEIR OWN CONTROL OF REINFORCEMENTS IN INTEUECTUAL-ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SITUATIONS
   CRANDALL, VIRGINIA C, KATKOVSKY, WALTER, CRANDALL, VAUGHN J. · 1965 · Child Development
9. Human Helplessness: Theory and Applications
   Judy Garber, Martin E. P. Seligman · 1980
10. Control of Attributions about the Self Through Self-handicapping Strategies: The Appeal of Alcohol and the Role of Underachievement
    Jones, Edward E., Berglas, Steven · 1978 · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Show all 31 references

Cited by (10)

1. The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory.
   Kluger, Avraham N., DeNisi, Angelo · 1996 · Psychological Bulletin
2. Self-Efficacy and Academic Motivation
   Schunk, Dale H. · 1991 · Educational Psychologist
3. The support of autonomy and the control of behavior.
   Deci, Edward L., Ryan, Richard M. · 1987 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
4. Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
   Vallerand, Robert J. · 1997 · Advances in experimental social psychology
5. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations in the Classroom: Age Differences and Academic Correlates
   Lepper, Mark R., Corpus, Jennifer Henderlong, Iyengar, Sheena S. · 2005 · Journal of Educational Psychology

See all 74