Meta-analytic techniques were used to review studies of the relation between locus of control and depression. Contrary to what some authors have claimed, we found that locus of control orientation and degree of depression were significantly related, that the relation was moderately strong, and that it was consistent across studies. Greater externality was associated with greater depression. Studies that included separate subscales for locus of control for positive and negative outcomes produced similar results. Seven potential mediators of the locus of control-depression relation were investigated, with only two producing significant results. Effect sizes varied as a function of the particular locus of control and depression scales used in studies. The implications of the findings are discussed, with special attention given to the "depressive paradox" hypothesis (Abramson & Sackeim, 1977) and to Lament's (1972aLament's ( , 1972b) methodological critique of the locus of control-depression relation.

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We examined depressed and nondepressed college students' perceptions of control over outcomes in a task similar to the one introduced by Alloy and Abramson (1979, Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, when subjects completed a contingency learning task with no one else present, nondepressed subjects perceived themselves to have more control over frequently occurring response-independent outcomes than did depressed subjects, which replicated Alloy and Abramson's finding. When subjects completed the task in the presence of an observer, depressed students perceived themselves to have more control than did nondepressed students. In Experiment 2, the observer effects found in Experiment 1 were replicated, and we extended those results by showing that when response-independent outcomes occurred relatively infrequently, depressed and nondepressed subjects who completed the task in the presence of an observer did not reliably differ in their estimates of personal control. In Experiment 3, which included minor procedural variations from the other experiments, the pattern of results found in Experiments 1 and 2 was replicated under conditions in which observers were present while subjects received frequently occurring outcomes. Together, the results of the three experiments demonstrate that the consistently accurate personal control estimates of depressed subjects that have been found across a variety of situations break down when subjects complete a contingency learning task in the presence of an observer, and outcomes occur independently of response at a high frequency.

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We hypothesized that teacher self-disclosure would be positively associated with student classroom participation. This hypothesis is consistent with the reciprocity effect that suggests that self-disclosure by one person will elicit self-disclosure from another. Teachers and students in 64 undergraduate classes completed questionnaires that assessed teacher self-disclosure, class participation, and students' willingness to participate in class. Correlational analyses support the central hypothesis. We suggest that the positive relation between teacher self-disclosure and class participation may not be solely a function of the examples of class concepts that such disclosures provide but may be a function of the interpersonal atmosphere created by such disclosures. The applied implications of this research are discussed.