Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

216 CHAPTER 5 Learninglearned helplessnessA phenomenon in which exposure toinescapable and uncontrollable aversiveevents produces passive behavior.Learned Helplessness onthe Field In humans,learned helplessness can beproduced when negativeevents are perceived as uncontrollable.Even highlytrained athletes can succumbto feelings of learnedhelplessness in the face ofpersistent defeats. Athleteswho believe that they haveno control over the factorsthat led to their loss orpoor performance are lesslikely to believe that theycan succeed in the future(Coffee & others, 2009).They’re also less likely topersist in the face of failure(LeFoll & others, 2008).To test this idea, Seligman and Maier (1967) designed a simple experiment.Dogs were arranged in groups of three. The first dog received shocks that it couldescape by pushing a panel with its nose. The second dog was “yoked” to the firstand received the same number of shocks. However, nothing the second dog didcould stop the shock—they stopped only if the first dog pushed the panel. The thirddog was the control and got no shocks at all.After this initial training, the dogs were transferred to the shuttlebox. AsSeligman and Maier had predicted, the first and third dogs quickly learned to jumpover the barrier when the floor became electrified. But the second dog, the one thathad learned that nothing it did would stop the shock, made no effort to jump overthe barrier. Because the dog had developed the cognitive expectation that its behaviorwould have no effect on the environment, it had become passive (Seligman &Maier, 1967). The name of this phenomenon is learned helplessness—a phenomenonin which exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events producespassive behavior (Maier & others, 1969).Since these early experiments, learned helplessness has been demonstrated inmany different species, including primates, cats, rats, and fish (LoLordo, 2001).Even cockroaches demonstrate learned helplessness in a cockroach-sized shuttleboxafter being exposed to inescapable shock (G. E. Brown & others, 1999).In humans, numerous studies have found that exposure to uncontrollable, aversiveevents can produce passivity and learned helplessness. For example, college studentswho have experienced failure in previous academic settings may feel that academictasks and setbacks are beyond their control. Thus, when faced with thedemands of exams, papers, and studying, rather than rising to the challenge, theymay experience feelings of learned helplessness (McKean, 1994). If a student believesthat academic tasks are unpleasant, unavoidable, and beyond her control, eventhe slightest setback can trigger a sense of helpless passivity. Such students may beprone to engage in self-defeating responses, such as procrastinating or giving upprematurely.How can learned helplessness be overcome? In their early experiments,Seligman and Maier discovered that if they forcibly dragged the dogs over theshuttlebox barrier when the floor on one side became electrified, the dogswould eventually overcome their passivity and begin to jump over the barrier ontheir own (LoLordo, 2001; Seligman, 1992). For students who experience academiclearned helplessness, establishing a sense of control over their schoolworkis the first step. Seeking knowledge about course requirements and assignmentsand setting goals, however modest, that can be successfully met can helpstudents begin to acquire a sense of mastery over environmental challenges(McKean, 1994).Since the early demonstrations oflearned helplessness in dogs, thenotion of learned helplessness has undergoneseveral revisions and refinements(Abramson & others, 1978;Gillham & others, 2001). Learnedhelplessness has been shown to play arole in psychological disorders, particularlydepression, and in the waysthat people respond to stressfulevents. Learned helplessness has alsobeen applied in such diverse fields asmanagement, sales, and health psychology(Wise & Rosqvist, 2006). InChapter 12, on stress, health, andcoping, we will take up the topic oflearned helplessness again.