Miroslaw Kofta

When cognitive exertion does not yield cognitive gain: Toward an informational explanation of learned helplessness.

This study tested a new information-processing explanation of learned helplessness that proposes that an uncontrollable situation produces helplessness symptoms because it is a source of inconsistent, self-contradictory task information during problem-solving attempts. The flow of such information makes hypothesis-testing activity futile. Prolonged and inefficient activity of this kind leads in turn to the emergence of a state of cognitive exhaustion, with accompanying performance deficits. In 3 experiments, Ss underwent informational helplessness training (IHT): They were sequentially exposed to inconsistent task information during discrimination problems. As predicted, IHT was associated with subjective symptoms of irreducible uncertainty and resulted in (a) performance deterioration on subsequent avoidance learning, (b) heightened negative mood, and (c) subjective symptoms of cognitive exhaustion.

Repeated failure: a source of helplessness or a factor irrelevant to its emergence?

We tested the validity of the egotism model of human helplessness. In contrast to the original theoretical approach of Seligman and his associates, which points to response-outcome noncontingency as the main source of helplessness, the egotism alternative proposes that repeated failure itself is the critical determinant of helplessness symptoms. Repeated failure threatens the self-esteem of the subject, who supposedly engages in a least-effort strategy during the test phase of a typical learned helplessness study, which results in performance impairment. To examine the egotism explanation, we gave subjects noncontingent-feedback training with or without repeated failure on five consecutive discrimination problems. In two experiments, noncontingent-feedback preexposure produced helplessness deficits in performance on avoidance learning, whereas repeated failure appeared irrelevant to helplessness. This and our other findings from research are inconsistent with the egotism explanation and support instead Seligmans original proposal, in which helplessness is attributed to prolonged experience with noncontingency.

Uncontrollability as irreducible uncertainty

This paper tests a prediction from the information-processing model of helplessness (Sedek & Kofta, 1990) that during exposure to uncontrollability people experience high levels of irreducible uncertainty. Participants were given either a solvable or unsolvable discrimination task consisting of five problems. After completion of each problem participants evaluated the probability of all solution hypotheses. Three times during the course of each problem, participants indicated the solution hypotheses they were considering at that point. As predicted (1) entropy of the hypothesis set (the uncertainty measure) was higher under unsolvable than solvable tasks; (2) a gradual reduction in the number of hypotheses was noted in the solvable but not unsolvable task condition; and (3) uncertainty was a reliable predictor of self-reported cognitive difficulties with thinking production and attention. Copyright

Uncontrollability as a Source of Cognitive Exhaustion

In the last three decades, a psychological response to circumstances that jeopardize human striving for control has emerged as a prominent topic in psychological inquiry. Researchers increasingly have asked how loss of control affects human motivation, mood, and cognitive processing. In addition, attention has been directed to the effects of loss of control on psychological well-being, adaptation, and interpersonal relationships.

Dehumanization: Humanity and its Denial

In this paper, which is the introduction to the special issue ‘Dehumanization: Humanity and its Denial,’ we present a brief overview of social psychological research on the concept of dehumanization and infrahumanization. Focusing on the findings and theorizing of the special issue articles we discuss the relation between these two concepts, their determinants and consequences, particularly in the context of intergroup relations, but also with regard to the distal motives that may prompt individuals to equate humanity to the groups to which they belong.

Perceptions of Divine Figures Among Polish People Struggling with Homelessness or Alcohol Addiction

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate antecedents of positive perceptions of divine agents and the optimistic assumption that the world is meaningful, basically good and trustworthy, as found in Polish men and women who struggle with homelessness or alcohol addiction. In the largely understudied groups of people who were homeless (n = 111) or alcohol addicted (n = 120), we confirmed that communal orientation is a consistent precursor of beliefs in supernatural agents such as God, the Devil and angels, as well as positive perceptions of both God and guardian angels. The antecedents of basic trust varied across participant groups. However, among them were positive attitudes toward God, communal orientation, and a deferring problem-solving style. Additionally, we found asymmetric links between perceptions of divine agents and both duration of addiction and duration of therapy in the addicted group. The former was related to a less positive perception of guardian angels and less perceived collaboration with God, whereas the latter was linked to a more positive perception of angels and more collaboration with God in problem-solving. We discuss the significance of a positive concept of divine beings for people who are homeless or alcohol addicted.

Freedom of Choice and Moral Behavior

The relationship between freedom of choice as a psychological experience of an individual and his social behavior has attracted growing interest among psychologists during the past 20 years (Harvey & Harris, 1977; Harvey, Harris, & Lightner, 1979). First came the famous modification of dissonance theory proposed by Brehm and Cohen (1962), who ascribed a crucial role to the perceived volition (or freedom of choice) in arousing postdecisional dissonance. In a number of studies performed in the counterattitudinal paradigm (cf. Harvey & Mills, 1971; Linder, Cooper, & Jones, 1967; Sherman, 1970), it was consistently demonstrated that typical dissonance effects—consisting of a greater postdecisional attitude change under low rather than high external justification— are observed only when a person decides freely to engage in counterattitudinal behavior. As a result of these studies experimental psychologists had evidence for the first time suggesting the considerable impact of freedom of choice on an individual’s social behavior in the domain of attitude change.