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=='''Learned Helplessness'''== In the research from Maier & Seligman<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976">Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. (1976). Learned helplessness: Theory and evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 105(1), 3–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.105.1.3</ref>, learned helplessness are <i>instances in which an organism has learned that outcomes are uncontrollable; by his responses and is seriously debilitated by this knowledge</i><ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. It is a learned behavior over the course of repeated exposure to uncontrollable stressors in which the learner fails to find a reliever solution to that stressor and eventually gives up trying even when the situation becomes reasonably solvable<ref name="Nickerson">Nickerson, C. (2022, April 24). What Is Learned Helplessness and Why Does it Happen? Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/learned-helplessness.html</ref>. It is important to note that learned helplessness may further have a negative impact on the <b>motivational</b>, <b>cognitive</b>, and <b>emotional</b> level<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. On a motivational level, the willingness to even try or respond to a situation becomes weaker; on a cognitive level, the learner finds it difficult to learn that a response worked if the response were to succeed; on an emotional level, depression and anxiety are likely to occur. These are referred to as Motivational Deficits, Cognitive Deficits, and Emotional Deficits<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. ==='''Evidence'''=== ===='''Motivational Deficit'''==== In an experiment mentioned in the research article by Maier & Seligman<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />, three groups of people were tested in three different environments: the first group–escape group–were to escape from loud noise by pushing a button; the second group–inescapable group–were not able to escape noise regardless of what they do; and the third group–no-noise group–received no noise at all. Later all groups were taken to a hand shuttle box where they needed to move their hands from one side to another to escape noise. The experiment found that the escape group and the no-noise group successfully escaped noise with ease, while the inescapable group failed to escape. Instead, most of them sat and accepted the noise. <b>This suggests that the inescapable group had a decline in motivation to even try to escape</b><ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. The experiment further analyzed that people with “external locus of control” develop learned helplessness more easily than those with “internal locus of control”<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. ===='''Cognitive Deficit'''==== In the experiment that was previously mentioned in the research article by Maier & Seligman<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />, the same groups were given 20 anagrams of the same arrangement pattern to solve. The results showed that the inescapable group needed 7 consecutive successes before picking up the pattern; whereas the other two groups only needed about 3. <b>This suggests that the group who developed learned helplessness have more difficulty in identifying that a certain response would produce a certain outcome because they find the response and outcome to be independent of each other</b><ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. ===='''Emotional Deficit'''==== In the article by Maier & Seligman<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />, an experiment with rats was conducted in a similar fashion as the human groups mentioned previously. Two groups of rats were shocked while eating, with one group being able to control the shock by jumping in the air and the other group not able to control the shock. The results showed that the uncontrollable group of rats lost their appetite over time. In a similar experiment with humans performing a matching task while being shocked at a timed interval, the uncontrollable group showed high blood pressure consistently<ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. <b>The article argues that uncontrollable circumstances such as the shock experiment in this case results in the eruptions and modifications of emotions</b><ref name="Maier&Seligman_1976" />. ==='''Examples'''=== In the <i>[https://youtu.be/gFmFOmprTt0?t=77 Learned Helplessness Video1]</i> below, Ph.D Developmental Psychologist, Charisse Nixon, used an anagram activity in her class to induce learned helplessness. The result showed that in a very short amount of time, the group who were given two ‘unsolvable’ words and failed to complete the task gave up on the last word on the list; whereas the group who were given two rather easy words were also able to solve the last word which was the same last words from the unsolvable group. The teacher then asked the unsolvable group about their feelings (<i>[https://youtu.be/gFmFOmprTt0?t=204 Learned Helplessness Video2]</i>) and her students answered with many [[Learning emotions | negative emotions]] such as frustration, confusion and stupid. Later the teacher went on to discover why it was more difficult for the unsolvable group to complete the third word, and one student exclaimed that his confidence was shot<ref name="LearnedHelplessnessVid">zooeygirl. (2007, November 2). Learned Helplessness [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmFOmprTt0</ref>. <p>See also: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmFOmprTt0 Learned Helplessness Full Video]</p> <div><ul> <li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Learned HelplessnessVid1.JPG|thumb|300px|[https://youtu.be/gFmFOmprTt0?t=77 Learned Helplessness Video1]|link=https://youtu.be/gFmFOmprTt0?t=77]]</li> <li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Learned HelplessnessVid2.JPG|thumb|300px|[https://youtu.be/gFmFOmprTt0?t=204 Learned Helplessness Video2]|link=https://youtu.be/gFmFOmprTt0?t=204]]</li> <li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Learned HelplessnessFull.JPG|thumb|300px|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmFOmprTt0 Learned Helplessness Full Video]|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmFOmprTt0]]</li> </ul></div> [[File:Elephant rope.JPG|link=|thumb|320px|Story: The Elephant Rope <br>image from: [https://motivationandinspirationstory.news.blog/2019/12/02/the-elephant-rope/ The Elephant Rope]]] Another great example can be seen in the story 'The Elephant Rope'<ref name="MusaMusa_2019">Musa, M., & Musa, M. (2019, December 2). The Elephant Rope. INSIPIRATION STORY. https://motivationandinspirationstory.news.blog/2019/12/02/the-elephant-rope/</ref> where it talks about the cause of learned helplessness and finishes with a touch of encouragement. <p>The summary of the story is about elephants that were chained and confined at their young age developed a belief that they were not able to break free and yet gave up on trying, even when the elephants grew bigger and stronger while the confinements remained the same. The author then asks the readers to reflect on their own experiences based on the story.</p> <p>In this example, the elephants in their young ages were in an <b>uncontrollable</b> state where they were not able to break free from the chains and ropes. Over time the elephants lost the will to even try to break out from the confinements. The results showed that even when the confinements remained the same, because the elephants developed <b>learned helplessness</b>, they did not attempt to escape. <p>The full story can be found [https://motivationandinspirationstory.news.blog/2019/12/02/the-elephant-rope/ <b>here</b>]. ==='''Consequences and Treatment'''=== <p>In the article <i>What is learned helplessness?</i><ref name="Leonard_2022">Leonard, J. (2022, September 2). What is learned helplessness? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325355</ref>, impacts are listed among children and adults. Based on the article, some indications of learned helplessness may include the lack of motivation, the feeling of powerlessness over the outcomes of situations, and passivity. Consequences of learned helplessness may lead to poor performance academically and professionally, and may cause severe mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and PTSD<ref name="Leonard_2022" />.</p> <p> A valid treatment of learned helplessness could be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)<ref name="Davis_2022">Davis, K. F. (2022, March 25). How does cognitive behavioral therapy work? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296579</ref> that focuses on the <i>change of thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes that affect feelings and behaviors</i><ref name="Davis_2022" /><ref name="What Causes Learned Helplessness_2022b">What Causes Learned Helplessness? (2022b, November 11). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-learned-helplessness-2795326</ref>. Other strategies include exercising, stress management, healthy diet, and getting social support<ref name="What Causes Learned Helplessness_2022b" />.</p> <div style="text-align: right;"><font size=0>'''[[#top|[Top]]]'''</font></div>
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