<p>From <a href="https://psychology.stackexchange.com/a/27482/12937">this answer</a> (emboldenment is mine) :</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you want to go with modern cognitive theories of motivation, then a good concept to explore would be PLOC (Perceived Locus of Causality), or how much you believe you influence events. If you believe you can influence an outcome, you believe its cause is internal (I-PLOC), if you believe you have little influence on an outcome, you believe its cause is external (E-PLOC). <em>Learned</em> helplessness is when repeated <strong>exposure to negative <em>outcomes</em></strong> causes an E-PLOC, so your example would not qualify. But if your friend trusts your opinion and modifies their cognitive beliefs to align with yours, they will still display an E-PLOC, probably displaying very similar <em>behaviour</em> to learned helplessness, but that helplessness won't be 'learned'.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What counts as exposure? If I just observe that all my friends repeatedly fail to do the task, and I have E-PLOC from that, then would it be correct to say that I have learned helplessness? It doesn't feel like observing others' failure is social influence, because they don't tell me that I will be fail to success.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-21T16:49:10.797Z
Each and every thing that you witness internally or externally is an exposure, negative or positive.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-21T17:53:28.067Z
So can I develop learned helplessness by simply observing my friends repeatedly fail to do a task, without actively trying to do it? Assuming that I develop E-PLOC?
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-22T09:04:48.240Z
@Ooker That wouldn't match the explanation you quote, because you are swapping the "outcome" from your friend successfully doing the task with the different outcome of you succeeding in the task. Extreme example: just because a bird fails at Arithmetic doesn't mean if you witness that a lot you'll have learned helplessness. At most, you'll have learned helplessness that the bird can't be taught in case you were trying to teach it.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-23T01:53:29.307Z
@Steven your last part helps. However, this is the case that I don't have E-PLOC? Just because there are cases that E-PLOC doesn't develop doesn't mean that in all cases it doesn't? Or is it that E-PLOC won't develop in all cases that are only observing, not directly doing the tasks?
Ooker
<perception><motivation><learned-helplessness><causal-inference>
What count as an exposure?
Ooker
# What count as an exposure?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-21)

From [this answer](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/a/27482/12937) (emboldenment is mine) :

> If you want to go with modern cognitive theories of motivation, then a good concept to explore would be PLOC (Perceived Locus of Causality), or how much you believe you influence events. If you believe you can influence an outcome, you believe its cause is internal (I-PLOC), if you believe you have little influence on an outcome, you believe its cause is external (E-PLOC). *Learned* helplessness is when repeated **exposure to negative *outcomes*** causes an E-PLOC, so your example would not qualify. But if your friend trusts your opinion and modifies their cognitive beliefs to align with yours, they will still display an E-PLOC, probably displaying very similar *behaviour* to learned helplessness, but that helplessness won't be 'learned'.

What counts as exposure? If I just observe that all my friends repeatedly fail to do the task, and I have E-PLOC from that, then would it be correct to say that I have learned helplessness? It doesn't feel like observing others' failure is social influence, because they don't tell me that I will be fail to success.

**Tags:** perception, motivation, learned-helplessness, causal-inference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Each and every thing that you witness internally or externally is an exposure, negative or positive.  
> **username_0**: So can I develop learned helplessness by simply observing my friends repeatedly fail to do a task, without actively trying to do it? Assuming that I develop E-PLOC?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 That wouldn't match the explanation you quote, because you are swapping the "outcome" from your friend successfully doing the task with the different outcome of you succeeding in the task. Extreme example: just because a bird fails at Arithmetic doesn't mean if you witness that a lot you'll have learned helplessness. At most, you'll have learned helplessness that the bird can't be taught in case you were trying to teach it.  
> **username_0**: @Steven your last part helps. However, this is the case that I don't have E-PLOC? Just because there are cases that E-PLOC doesn't develop doesn't mean that in all cases it doesn't? Or is it that E-PLOC won't develop in all cases that are only observing, not directly doing the tasks?  

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## 0 answers

