This study was designed to test whether a learned helplessness treatment would decrease performance on mathematical tasks and to extend learned helplessness findings to include the cognitive development dimension. Results showed no differential advantages to either sex in resisting effects of learned helplessness or in benefiting from strategy…

This study examined variables related to problem-solving approaches of young children, using the theoretical framework provided by Zigler and collaborators in their work on outerdirectedness. Four aspects of outerdirectedness were examined: developmental trends, different types of reinforcement, task difficulty, and pride in accomplishment. (ST)

Aspects of problem-solving measured here are delay of gratification, field-dependence independence, and the relection-impulsivity dimension. The following hypotheses are proposed (1) Those subjects who score high on externality will not delay gratification as those who score low, but they will score lower on measures on field-independence than…

This study investigated the stresses confronting homeless adolescents and the coping strategies that enable stressed urban minority children to achieve in school. A total of 176 homeless children ranging in age from 9 to 14 years were interviewed, and 199 control subjects who were not homeless were surveyed. Academic achievement was determined…