Learned helplessness is an aspect of motivation that has aroused interest in academic and physical activity domains. Researchers have identified causal attributions that contribute to the development of learned helplessness. Attributions have been characterized along three dimensions: locus of control (internal/external), stability (stable/unstable), and controllability (controllable/uncontrollable). Attributions of success to external causes such as luck, and of failure to internal causes such as lack of ability, are associated with a pattern of learned helplessness. The controllability dimension is an aspect of learned helplessness that needs further investigation. It is predicted that perceived uncontrollability of an event can lower expectations of future success, ultimately resulting in learned helplessness and withdrawal of effort, but this has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of perceived controllability on expectations for success. Participants, 45 college-aged women, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: performance-contingent, negative non-contingent, and positive non-contingent. They completed two experimental tasks dependent on effort: a phantom wall sit where they were asked to maintain a sitting posture without support for as long as they could, and after a short rest period, a hand grip dynamometer task. For the wall-sit, individuals in the performance contingent group were given a plausible average time for their age group and a clock was visible so they could monitor their performance. The non-contingent groups were not provided with normative information and could not view the clock. When they completed the task, women in negative non-contingent group were told their performance was below national norms, while those in the positive non-contingent group were told their performance exceeded national norms, regardless of their scores. Participants then watched a demonstration of the dynamometer task and were asked to predict how well they expected to do, in relation to national norms provided. They attempted the task, completed questionnaires as a manipulation check, and were debriefed. There were no differences in performance between the groups on the wall sit. Both non-contingent groups outperformed the performance-contingent group on the hand grip task. The individuals in the negative non-contingent group had significantly lower predictions for success on the second task than those in the positive non-contingent group. The results suggest that perceived uncontrollability of a situation can negatively influence expectations for success, and support the notion that physical education teachers should foster the belief that success is achievable with effort.Keyword(s): research, student issues