Learned Helplessness Madelein D. Andrade Florida Atlantic University Learned Helplessness Learned helplessness is the psychological phenomenon that occurs when an individual faces an aversive and uncontrollable situation and learns that they are unable to change the outcome of the situation no matter what action they take (Maier & Seligman, 1976). Overmier and Seligman first explored this phenomenon in 1967. Their experiment was performed on dogs that received inevitable shocks of electricity. The dogs that had been exposed to the inescapable shocks of electricity later failed to recognize an opportunity to escape (Maier & Seligman, 1976). Further exploration by Overmier and Seligman showed that these dogs were unable to find an escape …show more content…
One of the most powerful ideas presented by this experiment is the cognitive aspect of the learned helplessness phenomenon. The cognitive portion of this experiment explains that routine exposure to inevitable outcomes can hinder the subject’s ability to perceive a direct relationship between their action and its effect (Maier & Seligman, 1976). Lack of control over an outcome is defined by the subject’s inability to change a given outcome by modifying their behavior (Maier & Seligman, 1976). According to Maier & Seligman (1976), when an individual is placed in an uncontrollable situation, there are three types of impairments that occur: motivational, cognitive, and emotional. Once the subject is aware that no matter their action, the outcome will remain the same, their motivation to change a similar situation in the future diminishes. The cognitive hindrance is that after being in an uncontrollable situation, the subject will often have trouble learning which action produces the desired outcome. Finally, the emotional aspect deduces that there will be an increase in the anxiety and depression since the …show more content…
This study highlights that parental psychological control of adolescents is related to negative developmental results and poor school performance for the adolescent (Filippello, Sorrenti, Buzzai, & Costa, 2015). This study is based on the theory that a child who is constantly controlled by their parent, grows up to believe that they are not in control of their situations, is unable to work independently to formulate solutions to difficulties they face, and thus experience learned helplessness (Filippello et al., 2015). Self-efficacy, how much one believes one is able to succeed at a task, is considered an important determinant of whether an individual has personal control over a situation. The study found that paternal psychological control and learned helplessness were positively correlated and that learned helplessness and self-efficacy were negatively correlated (Filippello et al.,
In the following essay I will be looking into the study conducted by Watson and Rayner (1920) on a small child known as ‘Little Albert’. The experiment was an adaptation of earlier studies on classical conditioning of stimulus response, one most common by Ivan Pavlov, depicting the conditioning of stimulus response in dogs. Watson and Rayner aimed to teach Albert to become fearful of a placid white rat, via the use of stimulus associations, testing Pavlov’s earlier theory of classical conditioning.
One of the most important factors believed to influence a child are parents. Parents are known to share a distinctive bond with their children. This special bond is what enables parents to shape their children. Whether it is into free-willed adolescents, ready to challenge any controversy, or into caring adults willing to spend the seventy cents a day to save a poverty stricken child. Parents have the power to mold their children. Setting firm, yet sensible, guidelines teaches children discipline and good behavior. Using physical abuse produces aggressive children, but having patience and understanding leaves a child better capable to handle stress in later years. How parents raise their children influences how they will turn out (Begley, p. 53).
This essay touched on the topics of Negativity Bias, Confirmation Bias, and Gamblers Fallacy, and Illusion of control. Each is just a few samples of a massive plethora of biases and theories based upon humanity. Most people have certain biases that govern their subconscious and will trigger if certain scenarios are met. It is hard to change some effects, like confirmation bias, after it has occurred because it easier to go along with preconceived notion rather than put the effort in reshaping thought
Imagine, you just recently came down with a cold and you are feeling really sick. How did you end up getting sick in the first place, was it just due to random chance, or was it because you were stressed and not watching your health? According to Julian Rotter’s social learning theory, the two different mentalities people have about how much influence they themselves have on their life events can be categorized into two different groups. Those with internal control believe that they have control over their own behaviour and the subsequent outcomes. Conversely, those with external control more often tend to believe that outcomes are beyond their control.
Cognitive dissonance by (Festinger 1988) says that there are unwanted consequences which can indicate an event that blocks someone’s inte...
“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.
Marano, Hara E (2004). The Pressure from Parents. Psychology Today. Reviewed on January 24, 2007.
Children in the study that had authoritative parents were reported to be more happy and successful. As an example, Lucy rarely was upset or angry, aside from the occasional outburst. She also was above average in school, as stated before. These children are also good at making their own decisions, as evident when Lucy decided that she needed to improve her grades and without any help from me, was able to achieve high grades in her most difficult classes. Lastly, these children are comfortable sharing their opinions with others and expressing their emotions.
Steinberg, Laurence, Elmen, Julie D., and Mounts, Nina S. “Authoritative Parenting, Psychosocial Maturity, and Academic Success among Adolescents.” Child Development, Vol. 60, No. 6 (Dec., 1989), pp. 1424-1436. Web. 1 May 2014.
Festinger, Leon. Carlsmith, James M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 58, 203-210.
Learned helplessness Theory – repeated exposure to a stressor, people stop trying to avoid it, feel they have no control over it, will not act if there is an opportunity to escape, and will not look for such opportunities (Ursa&Koeh, 2015)
In my reaction paper I will discuss B.F. Skinners theory operant conditioning and the ways he tested it out on animals, how it relates to humans, and how I can relate operant conditioning to my own personal life.
Learning through operant conditioning allows a conditioned behaviour to increase or decrease in the presence of reinforcement or punishment. However, this process can be affected by instinctive behaviours that would disrupt the conditioned behaviour. According to a study conducted by Breland and Breland (1961) they tried to condition a raccoon to pick up coins and drop them into a container. The raccoon however spent time rubbing the coins together and rubbing the coin on the inside of the container before finally dropping it in and receiving its food reinforcement. Even after conditioning, the raccoon’s need to rub the coins together became worse as he spent more and more time just rubbing the coins. This is known as instinctive drift where the raccoon’s instinctive behaviours limited its ability to perform the conditioned response. Therefore the raccoon failed to learn due to its innate tendencies that acted as a biological constraint and operant conditioning failed in teaching the raccoon through reinforcement.
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 1. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Parents must have sense of ownership in their child’s success. Parents must know what is going on with their child at school and in their personal life. If there are negative indicators, action must be taken to correct these issues. A child’s success is affected by the interactions of the parents. If there are distracters in the personal life of the child it can be detrimental to their education; therefore, these distractions need to be minimized if not removed.