AFFECTIVE REACTIONS TO FAILURE AS A FUNCTION OF EFFORT AND DEPRESSION

University students, divided on a quartile split into low (n = 53) and high (n = 42) depression groups (Beck scores of 0-1 or 7 and higher), were presented a series of failure situations in which failure occurr ed under high effort (with situational factors causing failure) or low effort. Subjects rated their affective reactions to each situation. I t was hypothesized that the group low on depression would feel worse a fter high effort (since this would challenge their sense of self-effic acy) whereas the high depression group would feel better in this condi tion (since attribution of failure to situational factors would protec t their sense of self-esteem). Results were consistent with expectatio ns for the group low on depression. For the group high on depression, the means were rank-ordered as predicted but the difference was not si gnificant.