Learned helplessness and the facilitation of biofeedback performance

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Learned helplessness is a psychological state where individuals feel unable to control negative events.
• Effort cessation is a common response to perceived uncontrollability.
• Previous research indicates learned helplessness negatively impacts cognitive performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differential effects of learned helplessness on cognitive tasks versus biofeedback relaxation.
• To explore the role of effort reduction as a mediating mechanism.
• To re-evaluate interpretations of self-efficacy and learned helplessness theories.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted involving participants exposed to false failure feedback.
• Performance on a cognitive arithmetic task was measured.
• Performance on a biofeedback relaxation task was assessed.
• Self-report measures were used to gauge expectancies and effort levels.

Main Results:

• False failure feedback impaired performance on the cognitive arithmetic task.
• False failure feedback enhanced performance on the biofeedback relaxation task.
• Participants reported lower expectancies and planned less effort after failure feedback.

Conclusions:

• Effort reduction following learned helplessness is a key factor explaining contrasting task performances.
• The findings suggest a nuanced understanding of learned helplessness and self-efficacy is needed.
• Learned helplessness can have context-dependent effects on performance.