Learned helplessness and depression Learned helplessness is defined as the idea that clinical depression and similar mental illnesses could result from the real or perceived lack of control (Hock, 2013). This concept has been studied immensely throughout the years. One of the first psychologists to pursue this phenomenon was Martin E. P. Seligman, who in 1972 used dogs to examine the effect of a controllable versus uncontrollable situation and the effect that had on learning (Hock, 2013). Several years later, two psychologists, Carol Diener and Carol Dweck, used the information that Seligman discovered and attempted to see the effects of failure on helpless and non-helpless children (Diener & Dweck, 1980). In the following two years, Lauren …show more content…
Alloy and Lyn Abramson, sought to see how depressed and not depressed college students perceived the illusion of control (Alloy & Abramson, 1982). The most recent study examined how stress and exercise can influence depression (Greenwood et al., 2003). Each one of these studies used information from the previous to attempt to make deeper connections and further the knowledge about what causes depression. A study by Seligman which is outlined in Hock’s book “Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research,” (2013) was one of the earliest attempts to study learned depression. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of controllable versus uncontrollable shock on later ability to learn to avoid shock. Seligman used 24 dogs that were divided into three groups, the control group, the no-escape group, and the escape group. Each of the dogs were put into an apparatus with panels that kept them facing forward but could be pushed with their heads. For the escape group, the dog had to press the panel to end the shock. For each test an escape dog was paired with a no-escape dog, which is a process called yoking. Both dogs were given identical shocks and the shock was not terminated until the escape dog pressed the panel, this way both dogs received the same intensity and duration of shock. The control group was not shocked. After a while the escape dogs learned that pressing the panel would stop the shock, their reaction time became much quicker. After 24 hours of testing, the dogs were tested with a different shuttle box. This one had lights on the sides which would turn off and 10 seconds later a shock was given. The dogs could jump out of the box during the 10 seconds before the shock and avoid the physical pain. The shock was ended after the dog jumped out or after 60 seconds. Learning was measured by the average time it took from when the light went out to when the dog jumped out, and the percentage of dogs in each group that failed to learn to avoid the shocks. The dogs in the no escape group were tested again a week later to determine the lasting effects. The results showed that the escape group learned quickly to end the shock while the no-escape dogs stopped trying to escape after 30 trials. This behavior transferred into the second experiment with the lights. The experiment showed that the control factor was responsible for the difference in learning to escape between the two groups. This experiment has been questioned due to the ethicality of shocking the dogs. In the second article focused on learned helplessness in children (Diener & Dweck, 1980).
The Seligman experiment focused on the instinct and learned helplessness of dogs, this study attempts to rationalize how children are affected by failure. The purpose was to observe the nature of the differences between helpless children’s view of failure and mastery oriented children’s view of failure. The subjects were 56 male and 56 female 4th through 6th graders. Helplessness was measured by the Intellectual Responsibility Scale. The children were asked to answer a series of problems, 8 success and 4 failure problems. Then asked how they thought they performed. The results showed that only the children’s perception of their successes differed. The helpless children showed a decrease in the use of effective strategies and an increase in ineffectual strategies when presented with failure. The mastery-oriented children were not deterred. There was also a significant different in the children’s opinions of future successes. Helpless children thought that every other child performed better and were more critical of their work. It was concluded that “if there is a way to devalue one’s present performance or to be pessimistic about one’s future performance, the helpless children are likely to make use of it” (Diener & Dweck, 1980). The second major finding was that the helpless children do not view their current successes as a prediction of future successes. This article opened my eyes to how children can be affected by failure. Unlike the first experiment, this one showed how humans can be influenced by failure. I thought it was most interesting that it was so consistent that helpless children who faced failure blamed themselves even though they are so
young. From grade schoolers to college students, learned helplessness has been seen to affect all ages and walks of life. This study by Abramson and Alloy (1982) attempts to examine the relationship among learned helplessness, depression and the illusion of control in college students. 60 male and 60 female students from the University of Pennsylvania served as paid volunteers. Each was assessed if depressed by the Beck Depression Inventory and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List Depression Score. All subjects were assigned randomly to the experimental conditions with a few constraints: each condition had equal numbers of males and females and depressed and non-depressed students and “the first subject receiving noises received controllable noises and the one subject was assigned to the uncontrollable noise group between each assignment of a subject to the controllable noise group. This enables uncontrollable and controllable noise subjects to be yoked for number, pattern and duration of noise.” There were four different groups, pretreatment condition, controllable noise, uncontrollable noise, no noise. Each group had a male and female section. The subjects were given a series of problems, some of which were “winning problems” and others “losing problems” all of which the subjects had no control over. The results showed that mood was the significant factor. The depressed groups grew more depressed and anxious as the trials went on, especially in the lose category. Females showed the most depression and hostility. Nondepressed individuals thought they had control over their winnings while depressed individuals knew they had no control. Nondepressed students showed an illusion of control. For me this study made me feel like I could be more in control of my feeling of helplessness. It helped me understand that sometimes it is better to give up the illusion of control and understand the reality of things. The final study brought a more biological. It examines the effects of 6 week sof voluntary freewheel running on learned helpless behaviors and investigates the effect of freewheel running on uncontrollable stress induced activation of 5-HT neurons in the DRN using double c-Fos/5-HT immunochemistry. As well was the effect of freewheel running on 5-HT1A auto receptor mRNA expressing in the DRN is determined suing in situ hybridization (Greenwood et al., 2003). Greenwood’s experiment used adult male rats which were randomly assigned to either active or inactive lifestyles. Then were exposed to tail shocks, after the shock they were returned to their cages. Body weight and levels of c-Fos protein were measured throughout the experiment. The results showed that the active rats weighed less than the sedentary rats at the end of the 2 week testing period. The activity significantly reduces the effects of stress and lowers the levels of DRN 5-HT neurons. I can really connect with this last study. I know that when I am very stressed out, whether that is over uncontrollable events or controllable events, exercise really helps me calm down. This study was the most complicated that I read while looking for supporting articles due to the language and terminology but I believe that it really provides insight into the lives of many people. When I look at each of these studies, I see that there are ways that one can combat learned helplessness and depression but also that sometimes it is out of your hands. The best thing that someone can do is get consistent exercise, focus on the controllable and look at failure as a learning opportunity. Reading about learned helplessness really helped me understand how I can control my life better. There are things that are out of your hands that you simply cannot concern yourself with.
After reading Failure is Not an Option by Nathan Wallace, we ponder whether failure is beneficial or not. However, after reading the passage, we stumble upon a quote where Wallace says “Failure is always an option. Failure can lead to great learning and progress when a specific failure is analyzed through the lens of a growth mindset.”
“There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs,” was said by motivational speaker and American author Zig Ziglar. This relates to Carol S. Dweck’s article “Brainology” and Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me.” Ziglar, Dweck, and Alexie all feel that it isn’t easy for someone to become successful. It takes hard work, perseverance, and the want to learn and grow. In Dweck’s article, she stated that someone with a growth mindset would become more successful and knowledgeable than someone with a fixed mindset, which was demonstrated by Alexie in his essay, and by a personal experience of my own.
We were not born with the ability to do everything and we must allow ourselves to take our lessons as we go and learn from them. In my life there are many things that I have learned, whether it be from the trial and error of working on vehicles to me submitting an uncited English paper. We are taught from the moment we are born what failure is, we are asked to do things as simple as to say a word and we are told that is not correct. Even though that example is in the context of teaching, we still are being taught what it feels like to be told we are doing something wrong. Failure is something that we become so familiar with it becomes a natural view, seeing someone attempt to throw paper in the trash and they miss; fail or a failure as big as Chernobyl and everything in between, we are immediately taught to look down on what falls into the category of
People change over time, and no past history sets the future in stone. Developmentalists divide life into different segments based on age known as growth stages (Berger, 2009). Each stage affects the others causing development at every stage to build upon the other (Berger, 2009). Development does not follow a straight line, it instead moves up and down, back and forth, and it moves at different speeds (Berger, 2009). Although there are several theories of development, and it would be remiss to subscribe to only one; however for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on Erik Erikson’s Theory of Initiative versus Guilt; Industry versus Inferiority; and Identity versus Role Confusion. I also prefer to take an eclectic approach in the application of counseling theories and techniques; however for the purpose of this paper I will utilize three different therapies for each stage of development.
... growth where a child is forced to start looking for solutions for everything that is wrong instead of simply being a child. This analysis prove that children have their own way of seeing things and interpreting them. Their defense mechanisms allow them to live through hard and difficult times by creating jokes and games out of the real situation. This enables then to escape the difficulties of the real world.
Failure is often attributed to an overwhelming challenge. Individuals often blame their circumstances for their inability to achieve their goals. But contrary to popular belief, challenges and adversity are the necessary soil for the growth of success. By presenting both adversity and successes, the texts Breaking Night by Liz Murray, and Balotelli by Luca Caioli present the notion that great adversity can be the breeding ground for successful individuals.
“Learned helplessness is a phenomenon containing three components: contingency, cognition, and behavior. Contingency addresses the uncontrollability of the situation. Cognition refers to the attributions that people make regarding their situation or surroundings of which they are a part. Behavior allows individuals to decide whether they will give up or proceed with the obstacle set before them” (Peterson, Maier, & Seligman, 1993; Firmin, Hwang, Copella, & Clark, 2004). When a student thinks about college he must take either the ACT or the SAT test to be admitted into the college. Students have a lot of decisions to make that can be stressful. Failure is an aspect that students fear and can determine whether they will succeed in life.
In a situation where an individual lingers over how a consequence would have been different if they did things contrarily, is also known as upward counterfactual. It is where there is a higher intent to prepare, higher determination and overall enhanced performance. More so, this is a result of dissatisfaction with current performance and a motivation to improve outcome (Markman & McMullen, 2003), by coming up with new ways. It is often linked with an increment in self-efficacy through individual experiences that are usually tied with emotions of regret or disappointment. Contrariwise, downward counterfactual recognizes how a consequence may possibly be unpleasant and adverse than the actual outcome. It is where individuals identifies and are satisfied with what they have, knowing that it could have been otherwise (McCrea, 2008). This gives rise to emotions shifting from happiness to being at ease (Galinsky & Moskowitz,
Horwitz, Allan. (2010). How an Age of Anxiety Became an Age of Depression. , 88(1), p112-138.
Kaplan, P. S., Bachorowski, J., Smoski, M. J., & Hudenko, W. J. (2002). Infants of depressed mothers, although competent learners, fail to learn in response to their own mothers' infant-directed speech. Psychological Science, 13(3), 268-271.
Developmental psychology is a branch of psychology associated with characterizing how humans acquire knowledge, mature, and acclimate themselves throughout the course of their lives (American Psychological Association, 2015). Over the years, countless theories have been proposed to differentiate these deviations and to investigate the causes and mechanisms of human motivation and behavior, such as Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygtosky’s varying takes on cognitive development, and Lawrence Kohlberg and James Marcia’s interpretations of an individual’s moral development (Snowman and McCown, 2012: Kohlberg, 1971; Marcia, 1980). Psychologist Albert Bandura (1989), however, offers a different perspective through
Dweck studied for years on failure, and failure is not a popular activity. Of course, Many people whom she studied did not like tasks, did not do well, and some people she had studied done great under a challenge. The data let her to the conclusion that the group of people who did not like tasks had a “fixed mindset”, and the group of people that thrived under challenge had a “ growth mindset”. If you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset determines whether or not you react to anything that of course tests your intellectual abilities. Being a writer is a job for people with a growth mindset. that does not mean that people with a growth mindset are
There are several possible theories of where depression comes from, such as bullying, learned patterns of negative thinking, victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or mental abuse, and early child...
Hiroto, D. S. (1974). Locus of control and learned helplessness. Journal of experimental psychology, 102(2), 187.
Failure is not merely the reciprocal of success; moreover, it is the shadow of success waiting for the correct path of light to grow and unveil itself. Instead of being melancholy about failing, we should take our failure as an advantage to do the correct thing and succeed. After all, as said by Ellen Degeneres, “It’s failure that gives you the proper perspective on success.” I, along with the billions of other people on this planet, have failed many times in life. However, there are certain failures that can teach us a value so powerful that it can outpower the most preached teachings or morals.