Reversal of cognitive and affective deficits associated with depression and learned helplessness by mood elevation in patients

Therapeutic implications of the learned helplessness model of depression were tested in a clinical population (48 male medical and psychiatric patients of a VA hospital). In pretreatment, 2 groups of nondepressed medical patients waited, 2 groups of nondepressed medical patients received helplessness training, and 2 groups of psychiatric patients (diagnosed as primary affective disorder) waited. In treatment, Ss received either E. Velten's (1968) mood-elation procedure as "therapy" or Velten's (1968) mood-neutral procedure as placebo. Performance on cognitive and mood tasks was assessed. Three separate administrations of the Depression Adjective Check List indicated that helplessness training induced depressive affect, and the mood elation procedure decreased depressive affect for both helpless and depressed Ss. The mood neutral procedure and the waiting periods were associated with no affective changes. On the cognitive (anagrams) task, performance deficits were associated with helplessness and depression but were reversed by mood elation. Results are interpreted as consistent with the learned helplessness model of depression. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive influences on the development of learned helplessness.

120 college students participated in an experiment concerning the influence of self-statements following failure on subsequent symptoms of learned helplessness (LH). 40 Ss were given solvable concept-formation problems (nonhelpless condition), and 80 Ss were given unsolvable problems (helpless condition). MANOVA revealed a significant difference between helpless and nonhelpless Ss on cognitive/motivational and affective measures of LH and on self-statements regarding performance. However, when multiple regression and correlational analyses were performed within the group of Ss who failed the problems, no stable relationship was found between self-statements (cognitions) about concept-formation performance and the LH measures. Implications for A. T. Beck's (1967) cognitive model of depression and the reformulated LH model of depression (L. Y. Abramson et al, 1978) are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness in the perspective of the depressive disorders: Conceptual and definitional issues.

Examines 3 issues that are important in extending the learned helplessness model to clinical depressive disorders. First, the nature of the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations of depression is examined within several clinical frameworks, and the role that learned helplessness may play in each is discussed. Second, the problems in constructing models for clinical populations are explored through the examination of several parallels between learned helplessness and clinical depression put forth by M. E. Seligman (1975). Third, problems involved in defining and identifying depressed college student Ss in analog research are discussed. Integral to the latter issue is an evaluation of the assumption that depressed college student Ss differ from clinical depressives only quantitatively but not qualitatively. Suggestions are made for research aimed at extending the learned helplessness model to other clinical problem areas. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of real and recalled success on learned helplessness and depression.

The effects of recalling past successes on the deficits in learned helplessness and depression were examined and, for learned helplessness, compared with those of real success. Ss were 84 female, English university students who had been rated on the Beck Depression Inventory. Depressed Ss and nondepressed Ss receiving unsolvable problems showed deficits in anagram performance and some evidence of lowered mood compared with nondepressed Ss receiving no unsolvable problems. Experience with solvable letter substitution problems reversed anagram deficits and low mood associated with learned helplessness, replicating previous findings. Recalling successes on letter substitution problems had no effect on the anagram deficits in learned helplessness and depression and had an effect in improving mood only in learned helplessness. Real and recalled success both significantly modified attributions for failure in the learned helplessness condition. Results suggest real success does not have its therapeutic effects by modifying attributions for failure toward external factors. Some evidence of a facilitatory effect of depression on initial anagram performance was obtained. It is concluded that recall of past successes, while easier to arrange than real success experiences, may not be a powerful clinical procedure. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An attempt to reverse performance deficits associated with depression and experimentally induced helplessness.

The learned helplessness model of depression predicts that any effective treatment for reactive depression should also reverse performance deficits associated with experimentally induced helplessness, and vice versa. A study was conducted to test this prediction. Ss were 62 college students who were exposed to experimental manipulations designed to induce helplessness or who scored above a group mean on the Beck Depression Inventory. Depressed and helpless Ss were randomly assigned to 4 groups. The 2 treatment groups received either E. Velten's (1968) mood statements for the induction of elation or a set of simple anagrams to solve. The 2 remaining groups were exposed to no-treatment conditions. All Ss were tested for helplessness on a series of concept formation problems. Results fail to confirm the predictions of the learned helplessness model of depression. Although treatment was effective with helpless Ss, the performance of treated depressed Ss was not enhanced. Also, depressed Ss given anagrams performed more poorly than depressed Ss given mood statements. Several possible explanations for the findings are considered. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive interference and learned helplessness: The effects of off-task cognitions on performance following unsolvable problems.

Assessed the effects of individuals' proneness to cognitive interference on performance following failure. Ss responded to a questionnaire tapping proneness to cognitive interference and were exposed to either no feedback or failure. On completing these problems, Ss performed a cognitive task in which the memory load was varied systematically. The cognitive interference theory successfully predicted most of the group differences: (a) Only the performance of Ss with a habitual tendency to engage in off-task cognitions was debilitated by failure; (b) this performance impairment was only observed in performance accuracy in the high memory load version of the task; and (c) performance accuracy was associated with the frequency of off-task cognitions in the experiment. Results were discussed in terms of the cognitive interference interpretation of learned helplessness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reversal of performance deficits and perceptual deficits in learned helplessness and depression.

Tested therapeutic implications of the learned helplessness model of depression in 2 experiments with a total of 128 undergraduates. Depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory. Nondepressed Ss receiving inescapable noise and depressed/no-noise Ss later showed noise escape deficits in a shuttlebox and perceptions of response-reinforcement independence when compared with nondepressed/no-noise Ss. Experience with solvable discrimination problems reversed the escape deficits and perceptions of response-reinforcement independence associated with both inescapability and depression. Results support the learned helplessness model of depression, which claims (a) that uncontrollable events induce distorted perceptions of response-reinforcement independence in nondepressed people which cause performance deficits parallel to those found in naturally occurring depression, and (b) that experience with controllable events reverses the perceptions of response-reinforcement independence and the performance deficits associated with both helplessness and depression. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness and self-reported affect.

Reports results of a study designed to assess the mood correlates of learned helplessness in human Ss. Results provide support for M. E. Seligman's (1975) proposition that the learned helplessness concept may serve as a model for reactive depression in man. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal attributions and types of depression in college students: The learned helplessness model revisited.

Tested the relation between attributions and types of depression (with and without low self-esteem) postulated by reformulated learned helplessness theory vs. an alternative (R. Janoff-Bulman; see record 1981-01320-001). 334 Ss completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Attributional Style Questionnaire, and Janis-Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale. Scores above 8 on the Beck were considered depressed. A median split on the Janis-Field scale divided Ss into those with and without low self-esteem. Clearest support was found for Janoff-Bulman's formulations. Depressed Ss with low self-esteem made more internal characterological attributions for bad events than the other groups. Nondepressed Ss made more internal behavioral attributions than depressed Ss. The implications for counseling and future research on depression and learned helplessness are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression-related cognitions: Antecedent or consequence?

Measured depression-related cognitions and self-esteem in 998 adults who were followed for 1 yr. Ss completed a battery of tests including the Subjective Probability Questionnaire, Personal Beliefs Inventory, and Multidimensional Multiattributional Causality Scale. 63 Ss were depressed at the time of assessment, 85 became depressed during the follow-up period, and 115 had a history of depression but were not depressed at the initial assessment. Results are generally consistent with the hypothesis that depression-related cognitions arise concomitantly with an episode of depression. The currently depressed Ss differed from nondepressed Ss as expected; however, Ss who were to become depressed during the course of the study did not differ from controls on the cognitive measures. In addition, depressive cognitions did not seem to be permanent residuals of an episode. Although the depression-related cognitions did not predict future depression, they did predict improvement; depressed Ss with more negative cognitions were significantly less likely to improve during the follow-up period. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive reactions and unemployment.

Investigated correlates of situation-specific depressive affect associated with unemployment and correlates of more general depressive symptoms assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for 116 15–32 yr old unemployed Ss. Consistent with a frustrated work-motivation pattern, depressive affect was associated with concern about being unemployed and with stronger endorsement of external causes of unemployment. Consistent with a self-blame view of depression, BDI scores were related to stronger endorsement of internal causes for unemployment, to low self-esteem, and to feelings of helplessness. Stronger endorsement of internal causes was found among those Ss with a longer history of unemployment. Multiple regression analyses showed, however, that the attributional variables accounted for a relatively low proportion of the variance in the depression measures. Results question the adequacy of attributional accounts of depression. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions for real and hypothetical events: Their relation to self-esteem and depression.

Examined the association between attributional style, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and general distress to test hypotheses derived from a learned helplessness model and B. Weiner's (see record 1979-28688-001) attributional model of motivation. 178 male and female undergraduates completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and an attributional style questionnaire and were asked to make causal attributional ratings about 12 hypothetical events. 151 Ss also were asked to make diary ratings on 14 real events. Attributional ratings were internally consistent across events, but attributions about positive outcomes were either uncorrelated or positively correlated with attributions about negative outcomes, failing to support learned helplessness predictions that a single process underlies attributions about positive and negative events. As predicted, internal attributions for positive outcomes were primarily associated with high self-esteem. Only internal stable attributions for negative outcomes were related to depressive symptoms, consistent with Weiner's model. The pattern of correlation between attributions and general distress was essentially identical to that obtained with depressive symptoms. Attributions for real events were similar in their effects to ratings of hypothetical events. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and learned helplessness in man.

Demonstrated similarity of impairment in naturally occurring depression and laboratory-induced learned helplessness in 48 undergraduates. 3 groups each of depressed and nondepressed Ss were exposed to escapable, inescapable, or no noise. Then they were tested on a series of 20 patterned anagrams. Depressed-no-noise Ss were much poorer at solving individual anagrams and seeing the pattern than nondepressed-no-noise Ss. Inescapable noise produced parallel deficits in nondepressed Ss relative to escapable or no noise, but inescapable noise did not increase impairment in depressed Ss. Findings support the learned helplessness model of depression, which claims that a belief in independence between responding and reinforcement is central to the etiology, symptoms, and cure of reactive depression. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational and functional helplessness: The moderating effect of state versus action orientation.

Presents a 3-factor theory of learned helplessness that differs from M. E. Seligman's (see PA, Vols 54:1316 and 61:1206) theory in placing the emphasis on functional rather than motivational helplessness. Generalized performance decrements following exposure to uncontrollable results are attributed to deteriorated cognitive functioning caused by an increase of state-oriented cognitions (functional helplessness). Motivational helplessness (i.e., performance decrements caused by motivational deficits that are attributable to a belief in uncontrollability) is considered a special case of the 3-factor theory. Two experiments (36 undergraduates) demonstrated that Ss did not generalize reduced perception of controllability from training to test task. Ss exposed to uncontrollable failure in training nevertheless showed increased or decreased performance compared to a control group. Those performance effects could be explained on the basis of a personal disposition for and situational induction of state vs action orientation. It is concluded that a decision concerning the type of therapy for helplessness–depression should not be made until it is known whether motivational or functional helplessness is the primary problem. Although an attributional training may reverse motivational helplessness, it may have adverse effects when applied to depressives characterized by functional helplessness. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and the perception of reinforcement.

Tested the prediction of the learned helplessness model of depression that depressed Ss tend to perceive reinforcement as more response-independent than do nondepressed Ss in skill tasks, but not in chance tasks. Changes in expectancies for success following reinforcement in chance and skill tasks were examined in 32 college students. The Rotter Internal-External Control Scale and Beck Depression Inventory were used to classify Ss into 4 groups: depressed high external, depressed low external, nondepressed high external, and nondepressed low external. The predictions were confirmed: nondepressed Ss showed greater expectancy changes than depressed Ss in skill, while the changes of depressed and nondepressed Ss were similar in chance. Externality had no significant effect on expectancy changes in chance or skill. Results indicate that depression entails a specific cognitive distortion of the consequences of skilled action. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of amount of helplessness training and internal–external locus of control on mood and performance.

Based on C. B. Wortman and J. W. Brehm's (1975) integration of reactance theory with M. E. Seligman's (1972, 1975) model of learned helplessness, the present study examined the effects of amount of helplessness training and internal–external locus of control on subsequent task performance and on self-ratings of mood. 90 undergraduates were divided into internal and external groups on the basis of their scores on Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale and were then given either high, low, or no helplessness training on a series of concept-formation problems. After completing the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List, all Ss worked on an anagram task presented as a 2nd experiment by a 2nd experimenter. Internals exhibited greater performance decrements and reported greater depression under high helplessness than did externals. In the low helplessness conditions, internals tended to perform better than control Ss, while externals tended to perform worse than control Ss; low helplessness Ss also reported the highest levels of hostility. The results are discussed within the context of Wortman and Brehm's integration of reactance and learned helplessness theories. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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

Tested, in 2 samples of undergraduates (92 in Exp I and 55 in Exp II), predictions made according to the attributional reformulation of learned helplessness theory concerning the cognitive determinants of low self-esteem and depression. Real and hypothetical life events were used. Ss were administered the Beck Depression Inventory, a checklist of life events, and a self-esteem scale. 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 Ss had experienced. Other evidence that links depression to perceived low consensus is described, and a possible etiological role for this variable is outlined. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of attributions for success on the alleviation of learned helplessness and depression.

Investigated the effects of attributions for success on the alleviation of mood and performance deficits of 104 19–60 yr old clinically depressed inpatients. Ss were assigned to either an acutely depressed group or an improved depressed group that was exposed to a learned helplessness induction procedure. Ss received 80% positive feedback on a task allegedly measuring social intelligence. Concurrently, Ss were exposed to experimental manipulations designed to induce attributions of this experience to 1 of 4 types of causes (internal–general, internal–specific, external–general, external–specific). Following this task, Ss' mood, expectancies, and anagram performance were assessed. Results indicate that helpless and depressed Ss who received the internal attribution manipulations reported less depressed mood than Ss in the external attribution conditions. Similarly, Ss in the general attribution conditions performed better and reported higher expectancies for success on the anagrams than Ss in the specific attribution conditions. Results are supportive of an attribution theory model of learned helplessness and depression. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy changes in depression and schizophrenia.

Does the learned helplessness model of depression apply to clinically depressed patients and is it specific to depression? Changes in expectancy following success and failure in skill and chance tasks were assessed for depressed nonschizophrenics (unipolar depressives), depressed schizophrenics, nondepressed schizophrenics, and normal controls (32 Ss, aged 18–50 yrs). Unipolar depressives showed smaller changes in expectancy of future success after failure in the skill task than did the controls and both schizophrenic groups. Depressed schizophrenics did not show smaller expectancy changes than nondepressed schizophrenics. The learned helplessness model has been tested primarily in populations with subclinical depression; the present results provide partial support for learned helplessness as a model of one type of severe clinical depression and suggest that learned helplessness is not a general feature of psychopathology. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)