...Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1978, Vol. 87, No. 1, 49-74 Learned Helplessness in Humans: Critique and Reformulation Lyn Y. Abramson and Martin E. P. Seligman University of Pennsylvania John D. Teasdale Oxford University, England The learned helplessness hypothesis is criticized and reformulated. The old hypothesis, when applied to learned helplessness in humans, has two major problems: (a) It does not distinguish between cases in which outcomes are uncontrollable for all people and cases in which they are uncontrollable only for some people (univervsal vs. personal helplessness), and (b) it does not explain when helplessness is general and when specific, or when chronic and when acute. A reformulation based on a revision of attribution theory is proposed to resolve these inadequacies. According to the reformulation, once people perceive noncontingency, they attribute their helplessness to a cause. This cause can be stable or unstable, global or specific, and internal or external. The attribution chosen influences whether expectation of future helplessness will be chronic or acute, broad or narrow, and whether helplessness will lower self-esteem or not. The implications of this reformulation of human helplessness for the learned helplessness model of depression are outlined. Over the past 10 years a large number of experiments have shown that a variety of organisms exposed to uncontrollable events often exhibit subsequent disruption of behavior (see Maier & Seligman...
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...Although its name implies that learned helplessness is learned, is it possible for us to be born with helplessness that were learned from previous generations? Does gene play a role in learned helplessness since gender difference plays a role in learned helplessness? Is it possible for a person not to be influenced by learned helplessness? Can it be passed on from generations as a form of adaptation and for survival? Would being optimistic be a way to counter learned helplessness? Another question that bogged my mind was how much pessimism is considered too much pessimism as it is relative to the culture of a person? Is being pessimistic bad? Though many people would prefer an optimistic person over a pessimistic person, I found that the quote,...
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...I decided to write my paper on the article titled “Helplessness in Early Childhood: The Role of Contingent Worth” by Karen Klein Burhans and Carol S. Dweck. I found this article very interesting because I learned that in the 1970s, Carol Dweck proved that some children embraced the idea that once failure befell the condition was out of their control, with the idea that there was absolutely nothing they could do to change their circumstances. She specifically used children's descriptions for failures on a survey to study two groups, those who saw failure as insufficient energy and those who didn’t. She accurately demonstrated two response forms of failure by having elementary students in the fifth and sixth grade talk out loud while trying to solve problems...
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...Interventions Abstract Causes of Academic Failure in Students and Helpful Interventions Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma and about 1.2 million students drop out annually. What factors into this statistic? Academic failure occurs where the primary aims of education cannot be delivered to the degree that there is a fundamental and ongoing breakdown in a students ability to learn. According to the Aspen Education group, students who are consistently failing are at a high risk of dropping out before finishing their education. This is problematic because “High School drop outs are 72% more likely to be unemployed and they will earn 27% less than high school graduates”(US Dept. of Labor). When it comes to the world of Academia, there are many different components in play that affect the success or failure of students. Psychologists and educators alike have speculated about this for years, and they have proposed several different theories on student academic failure. Three main contributing factors of academic failure are learned helplessness, emotional and behavioral disorders, and learning disabilities, all of which have ways to help alleviate the chance of a student failing. Learned Helplessness Learned helplessness theory was first described by Seligman and Maier, based off of an experiment they conducted on dogs. They placed dogs in shuttle boxes and exposed them to ineludible shock. Once the dogs were exposed to this shock, they...
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...humanity as a whole. The earthquake of Oakland, California in 1989 is a true example of this quote. As the sirens of ambulances roared through the abolished city thousands of civilians gathered together, taking risks, to help those that were in the borderline of life and death. Learned helplessness, survivors’ guilt and altruism were all forever cultivated in the lives of those that lived the tragedy. Learned helplessness is a “giving-up reaction” (Learned Helplessness, 2006) that individuals experience when they are not in control of the outcome of an event. The earthquake in Oakland, California occurred unexpectedly, not even seismologist could detect the upcoming monster that damaged so many cities (Amaldo, 2004). As the people started to feel the shanking and falling of objects to them, they started to experience learned helplessness because there was nothing that they could do to stop or change the outcome of the earthquake (Amaldo, 2004). In the video Surviving the San Francisco Earthquake of 1989 learned helplessness is seen when Pastor Berumen, father of the two young children whose mother was crashed by the top road of the freeway, says “that’s is one of the things that is keeping me alive; I’m happy and sad at the same time” (Amaldo, 2004), after leaving the hospital with his 6 year old son, whose leg had been amputated at the scene where his mother died. Berumen experienced learned helplessness because he could not...
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...Considering the seeds of discouragement when assessing young people. Introduction In order to consider and analyse the seeds of discouragement when assessing young people, this essay will examine and discuss a number of factors that relate to the discouragement felt by young people which can leave them with unmet needs. The first objective of this essay is to describe what can lead to “climates of futility” by examining negative expectations and professional pessimism. The essay will then go on to explain how the response from professionals to problem behaviour can become a contributing factor to a child’s sense of futility, through discussing positive and negative theories of behaviour. The second objective of this essay is to examine the concept of “learned irresponsibility” and to understand how youth cultures are able to contribute to such learned helplessness and rebellion through things like social exclusion and street gangs. Next, nearing the end of this essay I will offer my opinion as to how the child and youth care worker should approach the young person differently during the assessment as to avoid the young person becoming discouraged during the transaction. Before the conclusion I shall offer my self reflection as well as sharing the impact that this topic of “the seeds of discouragement” has had on me. Climates of Futility The climates of futility refers to those environments which may cause young people to experience feelings of deficiencies and that...
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...Response, James-Lange Theory of Emotion, Basic Emotions 2. What four components make up what we think of as emotion? 3. What are some types of physiological measures psychologists use to measure emotion? 4. What is the purpose of the autonomic nervous system? 5. What roles do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems play? When is each system most active? What physiological changes occur? 6. What is the fight-or-flight response? When does it occur and what types of reactions does it typically cause in people? 7. Are polygraphs good at detecting lies? What do polygraphs actually measure? 8. According to the James-Lange theory of emotions does feeling an emotion cause our body to physically react, or do physical reactions in the body cause us to feel emotions? What evidence do we have that this is the case? 9. What are basic emotions? What do psychologists look for when they try to identify basic emotions? 10. How do we know facial expressions for basic emotions are not learned through experience? PERSONALITY 11. Important Concepts: Personality, Unconscious, Id, Ego & Superego, Defense Mechanisms, Repression, Denial, Rationalization, Projection, Personality Traits, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Big Five 12. What is the difference between a personality trait and a state? 13. Did Freud view the conscious or unconscious mind as having a larger impact on people’s behavior? 14. What are the roles of the Id, Ego, and Superego? How did Freud...
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...We have read Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman in our English class this semester, our task is to address Seligman’s rules for being successful and deciding whether or not we agree with his argument. Although I have not read the whole book, we were assigned to read chapters 1, 2, 3, and 12 and by that I was supplied with enough information to construct my own opinion on his claims. Martin Seligman argues that learning to be optimistic can change your way of life and empower yourself through non-negative thinking and I agree because after reviewing everything that I’ve been though these past 5 years, I found that having a positive mindset has got me though some of the hardest times in my life. Summary: In Learned Optimism, Martin Seligman argues that how you explain events to yourself after they happen has a huge impact on your life. In chapter one, Seligman defines two different type of people, pessimists – people who believe in bad events are their own fault and the consequences of the event will last a long time and optimists – people who believe bad events are only temporary, the events are not their fault and can either be caused by bad luck or other people. He goes on to explain that after 25 years of research, he is sure that if we believe bad events are our fault, more of it will befall on us and that the point of his book is to teach us how to recognize out pessimistic tendencies, stop them, and practice an optimistic lifestyle. He believes that because of the negativity...
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...as a discipline, and the major themes in twentieth century psychology. Summary: This activity will take you on a tour through the history of psychology. You will learn how psychology grew out of philosophy and medical physiology, and will become acquainted with some of the pioneers of psychology as a scientific discipline. Descriptive Statistics Purpose: To describe the common measures of central tendency and variability and demonstrate their use in summarizing a data set. Summary: This activity introduces you to the basic statistics that researchers use to summarize their sets of data. You will learn how to produce a distribution of scores and how to graph the distribution. After descriptions of the measures of central tendency (mode, median, and mean) and variability (range and standard deviation), you will be able to manipulate the scores in a distribution to see how each score affects the descriptive statistics for that distribution. Hemispheric Specialization Purpose: To explain how research on split-brain patients has helped us understand the special abilities of the two halves of the brain. Summary: This activity describes what researchers have learned about the special abilities of the left and right sides of the brain. After a brief review of the way that information is carried from the main sensory channels to the brain, you will test the responses of a simulated “split-brain” patient to demonstrate that, for most right-handers...
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...the Degree Master of Education by Joel Weaver July, 2008 Spring Quarter Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction.................................................................................... 3 Statement of problem……………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Research question………………………………………………………..…………………………………………. 4 Significance of study……………………………………………….………………………………………………. 4 Limitations…………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………. 5 Methodology……………………………………………………………..…………………………………………… 5 Organization of body………………………………………………...……………..…………..……………….. 6 Chapter Two: Literature Review……………………………………….………………………………. 7 Understanding student motivation…………………………………………………………………………. 7 Learned Helplessness: A Case Study of a Middle School Student………………………….…. 9 Learned Helplessness: The Effect of Failure on Test-Taking………………….……………..… 10 Factors Supporting School Engagement and Achievement Among Adolescents….… 10 Extrinsic Motivators and Incentives: Challenges and Controversy…………………………. 11 Dynamics of Motivation and Effort for Classroom Assessments in Middle School Science and Social Studies………………………………………………………… 12 Science Achievement and Self-efficacy among Middle School Age Children As Related to Student Development………………………………………………………….…….. 13 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14 Chapter Three: Method ………………………………………………………...…..…………………… 15 Setting ……………………………………………………………………………….………………………………... 15 1 Delimitations ……………………………………………………………………………...
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...Stress is something that everyone in the world goes through at some point in life. When looking at the definition on stress it states that stress is the mental and physical response and adaptation to ones bodies to the real or perceived changes and challenges in one’s life. Stress also affects our emotions and how we feel about certain situations. One’s health can majorly be affected by stress. When looking how stress can affect one’s health it has some positive and negative effects. The positive of how stress can affect our health is that it can drive us to want to do better at the task that we have at hand. Stress can be seen as a cognitive enhancer. One way that stress can be a cognitive enhancer is that it can help one focus. One such...
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...relive the worst events in their life with their most unflattering characteristics, time and time again. Yet, in doing so, they not only self-sabotage, but sabotage each other and prevent any member of the family from realizing any genuine relief or finding any true resolution amidst this perpetual cycle, which is essentially foreshadowed by the title, itself. Therefore, from the ongoing cycle of denial and blame, to anger and guilt, to drug use and abuse, Long Day’s Journey into Night is a cynical story that illustrates the seemingly infinite cycles that depict the perpetual struggles that occur within one family over the course of an average day as the light gives way to darkness. As such, the paragraphs that follow elaborate on some of the most prominent cycles within the story, beginning with a discussion of the Tyrone family’s collective inability to let go of the past, perpetually sending them backward as opposed to moving towards the future ahead. The Cycle of the Past One of the most prominent cycles throughout the entire play is the family’s inability to let go of the past. As a result, this creates a repetitive pattern in which the family is in the present, but they then revert back to a mindset of...
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...Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being Question 1: What alternatives to cosmetic depression drugs do you think would be effective and how could universities apply them to depressed students? In Flourish, Martin Seligman describes two forms of medication: cosmetic drugs and curative drugs. He further explains that insurance companies can only reimburse brief treatments because a complete cure generally implies more time and cost. As a result, Seligman concludes, all psychopharmacopoeai drugs are cosmetic, palliative, and only temporary fixes. Thus, the use of positive psychology in the treatment of depressed patients is even more important. One tactic that could help in the betterment of college students is the use of a “Gratitude Visit.” In this exercise, an individual is encouraged to think of a single person who helped them in some way, but was never properly thanked. Next, the individual must write a letter of gratitude to this person, being thorough and specific in their examples of how this person influenced and affected the individual’s life. Finally, the individual must call this person and arrange for a meeting, face-to-face. At this meeting, they will read the letter, slowly and carefully, allowing a discussion of the content and their response to follow. What is the benefit of this practice? Seligman argues the results will lead the individual to happiness and less depression within a month. Among college students, this influence...
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...Case Study: Depression Answer Sheet Ellen: Depression and Suicidality Student Name: Diagnosing Ellen 1a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist and list all symptoms that Ellen has that match the criteria for major depressive episode. Which of Ellen's symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.) |The criteria for major depressive episode rules that one must persist with at the very least one of these symptoms for a period of two | |weeks or more. Ellen unfortunately has displayed the following symptoms: daily depressed mood (although not certain if it most of the | |day), a diminished interest or pleasure in activates throughout the day, weight loss and loss of appetite, insomnia, loss of energy | |combined with a disinterest in normal activities due to her agitation and depression. She is struggles to make a final decision with her| |boyfriend, displaying instability in her daily decisions. She is not only having thoughts about suicide, she is planning it/ | 1b. Can Ellen be said to be suffering from a major depressive disorder? |Ellen may be suffering from a major depressive disorder. Ellen fits the description in the first part of the major depressive episode. | |This states that the individual has experienced a major depressive episode The second part of major depressive disorder restricts anyone| |who has no history of a manic or hypomanic episode. If Ellen experience mania, the opposite...
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...when they encounter traumatic situations, they easily split their consciousness into pieces, often for extended periods of time. The self is put aside and hidden,” (430). One can interpret from this quote that many times when trauma occurs during childhood, it can cause that child to truly hide who they are and ultimately shut down. Hence said that, if a child begins to become unauthentic at such a small age at which they are still developing, they will most likely in the future will have trouble in finding who they truly are. Many psychologists would call this learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is when an individual who has been exposed to the same trauma variously that they cannot escape that stimuli. Learned helplessness implies that since the individual does not have control of the situation, they can be forced to behave in a helpless manner in which they are compelled to give up their control. For example, Julia’s abuse began as a child and this as a result caused her to not truly live her life to the fullest. It seemed as if she chose not to have self-awareness because she had this fear that if she did she might reminisce the abuse and actually feel the abuse. Therefore, when a traumatic event occurs in our childhood our mindset has been altered in that we create this bubble in which we are afraid to let others in or let any new memories in because we are frightened that someone might pop this bubble. Moreover, as a result of this trauma we can sometimes forget how...
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