RELATIONSHIP OF ACADEMIC HELP SEEKING TO THE USE OF LEARNING-STRATEGIES AND OTHER INSTRUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT BEHAVIOR IN COLLEGE-STUDENTS

Correlates of help-seeking among college students were examined. In the first study (N = 612), college students' help-seeking tendencies, given the prospect of poor performance, were (a) directly related to their rated likelihood of engaging in instrumental achievement activities, (b) directly related to persistent global self-esteem, and (c) inversely related to students' perceptions that seeking help is threatening. In Study 2 (N = 541), help seeking was directly related to the use of cognitive, metacognitive, and resource management learning strategies. Study 3 (N = 386) replicated the results of Study 2 and also found that correlations between help seeking and learning strategy use were unchanged when controlling for individual differences in the perceived threat to self-esteem posed by help seeking. Evidence from all three studies is consistent with viewing help seeking in an academic context as an achievement-related rather than as a dependent behavior.