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Learned helplessness is the state of mind created when an animal or human being learns to behave helplessly, even with the means to escape or avoid an unpleasant situation. The learned helplessness theory holds that clinical depression and other mental illnesses may arise from the perceived lack of control over a situation, according to psychologist Martin Seligman. Martin Seligman was an American psychologist who, together with psychologist Steve Maier, studied depression at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1967 the they found that the conditioning of dogs produced outcomes that challanged B.F. Skinner’s behaviorism theory, which was the leading psychological theory at the time.The very first experiment consisted of three individual groups of dogs that were restrained with harnesses. The first group was the control group; they were placed in harnesses for a set period of time and then released. In this group, no outside stimulus was introduced.Group two’s dogs were yoked together in pairs of two. One dog in a pair would then be given mild electrical shocks. The dog could end pain of the electrical shock by pressing a lever.Group three’s dogs were also yoked in pairs of two. One dog in a pair would be wired in parallel with a dog in group two who was receiving the shocks. The dog would then receive shocks of the same duration as the dog in group two, but his own lever could not stop the shock. This caused the group three dog to receive a shock that was seemingly random and “inescapable.”The end result was that the dogs in groups one and two recovered quickly form the experience. The group three dogs did not recover as easily. They instead presented symptoms of clinical depression and learned to be helpless. Some believe this experiment to be unethical in terms of animal treatment, but it was conducted nonetheless.
Approximately 150 dogs were tested in the late 1960’s experiments. Roughly one-third of the dogs did not become helpless; they found a way out of the situation despite their previous experiences.The tests were later conducted on humans using distracting noises. The same characteristics in humans were found to be in direct relation to optimism and the ability to view the situation as other than personal, permanent or pervasive. These correlations were also found in studies relating to brainwashing in the 1950’s. The Seligman tests studied the differences in people who break under long-term psychological abuse and those who learn to adapt.
Many aspects of human helplessness have no correlations to animals. Vicarious learning or “modeling” is one of the more intriguing aspects. People can observe another person who is experiencing uncontrollable events and learn to be helpless themselves. This phenomenon is sometimes called vicarious trauma.
Drawing upon our more than 30-year history of granting degrees in professional psychology, Argosy University has developed a curriculum that focuses on interpersonal skills and practical experience alongside academic learning. Because getting a degree is one thing. Succeeding, quite another.
happiness learned martin seligman psychology
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