Personal control in organizations: The effects of helplessness training on performance, self-set goals and feedback-seeking behavior

Based on a review of the personal control and work motivation literatures, the present thesis proposed that the effects of perceived uncontrollability would lead to debilitating reactions in terms of goal-setting and feedback seeking behavior. Using the learned helplessness paradigm and incorporating the Wortman & Brehm (1975) helplessness/reactance integrative model, the effects of different levels of helplessness training on work motivation variables was assessed. While hypotheses concerning individual reactions to uncontrollable outcomes were not supported, the results were consistent with learned helplessness theory predictions. Subjects did not significantly in terms of expected levels of control over the subsequent, test task, and thus were not predicted to differ in terms of performance, goal-setting or feedback seeking behavior. Based on the moderately significant mood differences between groups as well as the apparent self vs. task attention focus for helplessness subjects, it was suggested that the manipulation in the study was not strong enough to elicit predicted behavioral effects. While the design of the study was essentially a replication of research producing helplessness and reactance effects, it was suggested that the much different subsequent task context in the current study limited the extent to which the manipulation was effective