In 1967, at the University of Pennsylvania, Seligman and Maier separated 24 dogs into three groups. The dogs were put into harnesses and received electric shocks. In group 1 (escape group), dogs could end the electric shocks by pressing a lever with their noses. In group 2 (no-escape group/experiment group):, they did not have a lever and could not avoid the electric shocks. In group 3 (no harness control group), dogs did not receive any electric shock.
After spending 24 hours in harnesses, the dogs were placed in a different box in which they could avoid the electrical shocks by jumping over a low barrier to the other side. Here’s what happened: Dogs in group 1 and 3 avoided electric shocks by jumping over the barrier, but dogs in group 2 — the group that had no choice to avoid the shocks — crouched in the corner and received all shock. That is, the dogs in group 2 exhibited learned helplessness.
Seligman found that after repeated failures of avoiding electric shocks, the dogs in group 2 learned that their behavior didn’t impact the electric shocks and the shocks were uncontrollable. Thus, the dogs gave up trying to avoid the electric shocks altogether.
What is learned helplessness ?
Learned helplessness is a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly. They come to believe that they are unable to control or change the situation, so they do not try — even when opportunities for change become available.
When bad things happen, we like to believe that we would do whatever necessary to change the situation. Research on what is known as learned helplessness has shown that when people feel like they have no control over what happens, they tend to simply give up and accept their fate.
A Common example
There is another common example: A person who feels shy in social situations may eventually begin to feel that there is nothing they can do to overcome their symptoms. This sense that their symptoms are out of their direct control may lead them to stop trying to engage themself in social situations, thus making their shyness even more pronounced.
Learned helplessness has since become a basic principle of behavioral theory, demonstrating that prior learning can result in a drastic change in behavior and seeking to explain why individuals may accept and remain passive in negative situations despite their clear ability to change them. Seligman (1975) argued that, as a result of these negative expectations, other consequences may accompany the inability or unwillingness to act, including low self-esteem, chronic failure, sadness, and physical illness [1].
Learned helplessness at school
A child who performs poorly on math tests and assignments will quickly begin to feel that nothing he does will have any effect on his math performance. When later faced with any type of math-related task, even an easy task, he may experience a sense of helplessness.
Academic struggles can often lead to feelings of learned helplessness. A child who makes an effort to do well but still does poorly may end up feeling that he has no control over his grades or performance.
Since nothing he does seems to make any difference, he will stop trying and his grades will suffer even more. Such problems can also affect other areas of the child's life. His poor performance in school can make him feel that nothing he does is right or useful, so he may lose the motivation to try in other areas of his life as well.
What are the signs of learned helplessness ?
Some common symptoms of learned helplessness include:
Failure to ask for help
Frustration
Giving up
Lack of effort
Low self-esteem
Passivity
Poor motivation
Procrastination
Learned helplessness can also result in anxiety, depression, or both. When some people feel that they have had no control over the past events of their lives, they gain the expectation that future events will be just as uncontrollable. Because they believe that nothing they do will ever change the outcome of an event, they are often left thinking that they should not even bother trying.
Alleviating Learned Helplessness
There are numerous studies designed to alleviate learned helplessness by changing attributions for success and failure so that learned helpless people learn to attribute failure to lack of effort rather than to lack of ability [2].
To overcome learned helplessness, we should increase the number of successful experiences by setting achievable goals. For example, if the goal is to learn a foreign language, set an attainable goal such as memorizing 10 vocabulary words in that language. Once this goal has been achieved, it will create a positive memory of success. These continued positive experiences will gradually build confidence. Later, you can set goals with a higher level of difficulty and gradually push away negative memories of failure. These small achievements can help reduce the effects of learned helplessness.
Another technique to overcome learned helplessness is to grow “failure resistance.” That is, the ability to overcome failure and maintain a positive outlook. To effectively grow failure resistance and escape from situations of helplessness, people can encourage themselves to think positively and reframe negative thoughts. For example, think about a failure as an obstacle to overcome in order to reach an ultimate success. This reframe helps to put negative experiences into perspective and will keep you from spiraling into helplessness.
This article is mainly inspired from the mental health news magazine Verywell Mind.
[1] Till Utesch, ... Martin Klämpfl, in Dictionary of Sport Psychology, 2019
[2] J.S. Eccles, A. Wigfield, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001
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