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Learned helplessness

Topic: Philosophy

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 14 min
Short description: Psychological behavior

Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control. It was initially thought to be caused by the subject's acceptance of their powerlessness, by way of their discontinuing attempts to escape or avoid the aversive stimulus, even when such alternatives are unambiguously presented. Upon exhibiting such behavior, the subject was said to have acquired learned helplessness.[1][2]

In humans, learned helplessness is related to the concept of self-efficacy: the individual's belief in their innate ability to achieve goals. Learned helplessness theory is the view that clinical depression and related mental illnesses may result from a real or perceived absence of control over the outcome of a situation.[3]

Foundation of research and theory

Early experiments

Inescapable shock training in the shuttle box

American psychologist Martin Seligman initiated research on learned helplessness in 1967 at the University of Pennsylvania as an extension of his interest in depression.[4] This research was later expanded through experiments by Seligman and others. One of the first was an experiment by Seligman & Overmier: In Part 1 of this study, three groups of dogs were placed in harnesses. Group 1 dogs were simply put in a harness for a period of time and were later released. Groups 2 and 3 consisted of "yoked pairs". Dogs in Group 2 were given electric shocks at random times, which the dog could end by pressing a lever. Each dog in Group 3 was paired with a Group 2 dog; whenever a Group 2 dog got a shock, its paired dog in Group 3 got a shock of the same intensity and duration, but its lever did not stop the shock. To a dog in Group 3, it seemed that the shock ended at random because it was their paired dog in Group 2 that was causing it to stop. Thus, for Group 3 dogs, the shock was "inescapable".

In Part 2 of the experiment, the same three groups of dogs were tested in a shuttle-box apparatus (a chamber containing two rectangular compartments divided by a barrier a few inches high). All of the dogs could escape shocks on one side of the box by jumping over a low partition to the other side. The dogs in Groups 1 and 2 quickly learned this task and escaped the shock. Most of the Group 3 dogs‍—‍which had previously learned that nothing they did had any effect on shocks‍—‍simply lay down passively and whined when they were shocked.[4]

In a second experiment later that year with new groups of dogs, Maier and Seligman ruled out the possibility that, instead of learned helplessness, the Group 3 dogs failed to avert in the second part of the test because they had learned some behavior that interfered with "escape". To prevent such interfering behavior, Group 3 dogs were immobilized with a paralyzing drug (curare) and underwent a procedure similar to that in Part 1 of the Seligman and Overmier experiment. When tested as before in Part 2, these Group 3 dogs exhibited helplessness as before. This result serves as an indicator for the ruling out of the interference hypothesis.

From these experiments, it was thought that there was to be only one cure for helplessness. In Seligman's hypothesis, the dogs do not try to escape because they expect that nothing they do will stop the shock. To change this expectation, experimenters physically picked up the dogs and moved their legs, replicating the actions the dogs would need to take in order to escape from the electrified grid. This had to be done at least twice before the dogs would start willfully jumping over the barrier on their own. In contrast, threats, rewards, and observed demonstrations had no effect on the "helpless" Group 3 dogs.[4][5][full citation needed]

Later experiments

Later experiments have served to confirm the depressive effect of feeling a lack of control over an aversive stimulus. For example, in one experiment, humans performed mental tasks in the presence of distracting noise. Those who could use a switch to turn off the noise rarely bothered to do so, yet they performed better than those who could not turn off the noise. Simply being aware of this option was enough to substantially counteract the noise effect.[6] In 2011, an animal study[7] found that animals with control over stressful stimuli exhibited changes in the excitability of certain neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Animals that lacked control failed to exhibit this neural effect and showed signs consistent with learned helplessness and social anxiety. A 1992 study[8] showed that the non-contingency between responses and outcomes when solving chess problems leads to a state of learned helplessness with chess players ranging from weak amateurs to professional players. The effects were proportional to the degree of similarity between the treatment and the task used in the post-test.

Expanded theories

Research has found that a human's reaction to feeling a lack of control differs both between individuals and between situations, i.e. learned helplessness sometimes remains specific to one situation but at other times generalizes across situations.[6][9][10] Such variations are not explained by the original theory of learned helplessness, and an influential view is that such variations depend on an individual's attributional or explanatory style.[11] According to this view, how someone interprets or explains adverse events affects their likelihood of acquiring learned helplessness and subsequent depression.[12] For example, people with pessimistic explanatory style tend to see negative events as permanent ("it will never change"), personal ("it's my fault"), and pervasive ("I can't do anything correctly"), and are likely to suffer from learned helplessness and depression.[13]

In 1978, Lyn Yvonne Abramson, Seligman, Paul and John D. Teasdale reformulated Seligman's & Paul's work, using attribution theory. They proposed that people differed in how they classified negative experiences on three scales, from internal to external, stable to unstable, and from global to specific. They believed that people who were more likely to attribute negative events to internal, stable, and global causes were more likely to become depressed than those who attributed things to causes at the other ends of the scales.[12]

Bernard Weiner proposed a detailed account of the attributional approach to learned helplessness in 1986. His attribution theory includes the dimensions of globality/specificity, stability/instability, and internality/externality:[14]

  • A global attribution occurs when the individual believes that the cause of negative events is consistent across different contexts.
    • A specific attribution occurs when the individual believes that the cause of a negative event is unique to a particular situation.
  • A stable attribution occurs when the individual believes the cause to be consistent across time.
    • An unstable attribution occurs when the individual thinks that the cause is specific to one point in time.
  • An external attribution assigns causality to situational or external factors,
    • while an internal attribution assigns causality to factors within the person.[12]

Research has shown that those with an internal, stable, and global attributional style for negative events can be more at risk for a depressive reaction to failure experiences.

Neurobiological perspective

Research has shown that increased 5-HT (serotonin) activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus plays a critical role in learned helplessness. Other key brain regions that are involved with the expression of helpless behavior include the basolateral amygdala, central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.[15] Activity in medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus, septum and hypothalamus has also been observed during states of helplessness.

In the article, "Exercise, Learned Helplessness, and the Stress-Resistant Brain", Benjamin N. Greenwood and Monika Fleshner discuss how exercise might prevent stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression. They show evidence that running wheel exercise prevents learned helplessness behaviors in rats.[16] They suggest that the amount of exercise may not be as important as simply exercising at all. The article also discusses the neurocircuitry of learned helplessness, the role of serotonin (or 5-HT), and the exercise-associated neural adaptations that may contribute to the stress-resistant brain. However, the authors finally conclude that "The underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this effect, however, remain unknown. Identifying the mechanisms by which exercise prevents learned helplessness could shed light on the complex neurobiology of depression and anxiety and potentially lead to novel strategies for the prevention of stress-related mood disorders".[17]

In developmental psychology the order of various stages of neurobiological development is important. From this perspective there are two different kinds of "helplessness" that appear at different stages of development. In early development, the infant is naturally helpless and must learn "helpfulness" toward mature neurophysiology. The "helplessness" that appears after maturation is what is properly termed "learned helplessness", although some researchers conflate this infantile form of "helplessness" with the pathological, adult, form.[18]

Health implications

People who perceive events as uncontrollable show a variety of symptoms that threaten their mental and physical well-being. They experience stress, they often show disruption of emotions demonstrating passivity or aggressivity, and they can also have difficulty performing cognitive tasks such as problem-solving.[19][20][21] They are less likely to change unhealthy patterns of behavior, causing them, for example, to neglect diet, exercise, and medical treatment.[22][23]

Depression

Abnormal and cognitive psychologists have found a strong correlation between depression-like symptoms and learned helplessness in laboratory animals.[24] Steven Maier, a professor from the University of Colorado, states that a model of depression could be caused by "impaired medial prefrontal cortical inhibitory control over stress-responsive limbic and brainstem structures." Comorbidity between psychological disorders and learned helplessness may be due to stressful events. Maier also mentions depression may not be the only mental illness that this involves, which could link to other mental illnesses.[25] Similarly, the National Institutes of Health, in 2021, looked at a wide range of depressive models. It highlights the learned helplessness model. The model allows one to predict depressive symptoms because of its high rates of overlap with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, which is the leading research in the article, "Overlapping neurobiology of learned helplessness and conditioned defeat: Implications for PTSD and mood disorders."[15]

(See Neurobiological perspective section above for further information on this article)

Young adults and middle-aged parents with a pessimistic explanatory style often suffer from depression.[26] They tend to be poor at problem-solving and cognitive restructuring and demonstrate poor job satisfaction and interpersonal relationships in the workplace.[22][27] Those with a pessimistic style can have weakened immune systems. It includes increased vulnerability to minor ailments (e.g., cold, fever) and major illnesses (e.g., heart attack, cancers). It can also cause poorer recovery from health problems.[28]

Social impact

Learned helplessness can be a factor in a wide range of social situations.

  • In emotionally abusive relationships, the victim often develops learned helplessness. This occurs when the victim confronts or tries to leave the abuser only to have the abuser dismiss or trivialize the victim's feelings, pretend to care but not change, or impede the victim from leaving. As the situation continues and the abuse gets worse, the victim will begin to give up and show signs of this learned helplessness.[29] This can result in a traumatic bonding with one's victimizer, as in Stockholm syndrome or Battered woman syndrome.[30]
  • Complex post-traumatic stress disorder.[31]
  • According to Gregory Bateson's theory of schizophrenia, the disorder is a pattern of learned helplessness in people habitually caught in double binds in childhood. In such cases, the double bind is presented continually and habitually within the family context from infancy on. By the time the child is old enough to have identified the double bind situation, it has already been internalized, and the child is unable to confront it. The solution then is to create an escape from the conflicting logical demands of the double bind, in the world of the delusional system.[32]
  • The motivational effect of learned helplessness is often seen in the classroom. Students who repeatedly fail may conclude that they are incapable of improving their performance, and this attribution keeps them from trying to succeed, which results in increased helplessness, continued failure, loss of self-esteem and other social consequences. This becomes a pattern that will spiral downward if it continues to go untreated.[33][34]
  • Child abuse by neglect can be a manifestation of learned helplessness. For example, when parents believe they are incapable of stopping an infant's crying, they may simply give up trying to do anything for the child. This learned helplessness will negatively impact both the parent and child.[35]
  • Those who are extremely shy or anxious in social situations may become passive due to feelings of helplessness.[36] Gotlib and Beatty (1985) found that people who cite helplessness in social settings may be viewed poorly by others, which tends to reinforce passivity.
  • Aging individuals may respond with helplessness to the deaths of friends and family members, the loss of jobs and income, and the development of age-related health problems. This may cause them to neglect their medical care, financial affairs, and other important needs.[37]
  • According to Cox et al., Abramson, Devine, and Hollon (2012), learned helplessness is a key factor in depression that is caused by inescapable prejudice (i.e., "deprejudice").[38] Thus: "Helplessness born in the face of inescapable prejudice matches the helplessness born in the face of inescapable shocks."[39]
  • According to Ruby K. Payne's book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, treatment of the poor can lead to a cycle of poverty, a culture of poverty, and generational poverty. This type of learned helplessness is passed from parents to children. People who embrace this mentality feel there is no way to escape poverty and so one must live in the moment and not plan for the future, trapping families in poverty.[40]

Social problems resulting from learned helplessness may seem unavoidable to those entrenched. However, there are various ways to reduce or prevent it. When induced in experimental settings, learned helplessness has been shown to resolve itself with the passage of time.[41] People can be immunized against the perception that events are uncontrollable by increasing their awareness of previous experiences, when they were able to affect the desired outcome.[42] Cognitive therapy can be used to show people that their actions do make a difference[43] and bolster their self-esteem. Seeking out these types of treatment options can be extremely helpful for people stuck in a rut when it comes to learned helplessness. While it may initially feel hard to escape, with the proper time and help, it can get better.[44]

Extensions

Cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman used learned helplessness to explain why people blame themselves when they have a difficult time using simple objects in their environment.[45]

The U.S. sociologist Harrison White has suggested in his book Identity and Control that the notion of learned helplessness can be extended beyond psychology into the realm of social action. When a culture or political identity fails to achieve desired goals, perceptions of collective ability suffer.

Emergence in the political atmosphere

In a political setting, learned helplessness is involved when a voter votes for a candidate and that candidate does not win.[46] If this happens over time, it can lead to learned helplessness. When this does occur, it can often lead to having fewer voters in the future. However, Wollman & Stouder (1991) found that there was not a significant finding between situation-specific efficacy and predictive behavior of voting.[47]

Emergence under torture

Studies on learned helplessness served as the basis for developing American torture methods. In CIA interrogation manuals, learned helplessness is characterized as "apathy" which may result from prolonged use of coercive techniques which result in a "debility-dependency-dread" state in the subject, "If the debility-dependency-dread state is unduly prolonged, however, the arrestee may sink into a defensive apathy from which it is hard to arouse him."[48][49]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Psychology the science of behavior. Pearson Canada. 2010. pp. 409. ISBN 978-0-205-69918-6. 
  2. ↑ Nolen, J.L.. "Learned helplessness". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1380861/learned-helplessness. 
  3. ↑ Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. 1975. ISBN 978-0-7167-2328-8. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Learned helplessness". Annual Review of Medicine 23 (1): 407–412. 1972. doi:10.1146/annurev.me.23.020172.002203. PMID 4566487. 
  5. ↑ Seligman, M. E. P., 1975 Scientific American
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Generality of learned helplessness in man". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 31 (2): 311–27. 1975. doi:10.1037/h0076270. 
  7. ↑ "Control over stress induces plasticity of individual prefrontal cortical neurons: A conductance-based neural simulation". Nature Precedings. 2011. doi:10.1038/npre.2011.6267.1. 
  8. ↑ Gobet, F. (1992). "Learned helplessness in chess players: The importance of task similarity and the role of skill". Psychological Research 54: 38-43. 
  9. ↑ Peterson, C.; Park, C. (1998). "Learned helplessness and explanatory style". in Barone, D. F.; Hersen, M.; VanHasselt, V. B.. Advanced Personality. New York: Plenum Press. pp. 287–308. ISBN 978-0-306-45745-6. 
  10. ↑ Cole, C. S.; Coyne, J. C. (1977). "Situational specificity of laboratory-induced learned helplessness in humans". Journal of Abnormal Psychology 86 (6): 615–623. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.86.6.615. PMID 599212. 
  11. ↑ "Causal explanations as a risk factor for depression: theory and evidence". Psychological Review 91 (3): 347–374. July 1984. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.91.3.347. PMID 6473583. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Learned helplessness in humans: critique and reformulation". Journal of Abnormal Psychology 87 (1): 49–74. February 1978. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.87.1.49. PMID 649856. 
  13. ↑ Peterson, C.; Maier, S. F.; Seligman, M. E. P. (1995). Learned Helplessness: A Theory for the Age of Personal Control. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504467-6. https://archive.org/details/learnedhelplessn00chri. 
  14. ↑ Weiner, B. (1986). An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. New York: Springer-Verlag.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Overlapping neurobiology of learned helplessness and conditioned defeat: implications for PTSD and mood disorders". Neuropharmacology (University of Vermont) 62 (2): 565–575. February 2012. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.02.024. PMID 21396383. 
  16. ↑ Greenwood & Fleshner 2008, p. 82.
  17. ↑ "Exercise, learned helplessness, and the stress-resistant brain". Neuromolecular Medicine (University of Colorado-Boulder and Department of Integrative Physiology) 10 (2): 81–98. 2008. doi:10.1007/s12017-008-8029-y. PMID 18300002. http://exuberantanimal.com/web/library/case_for_the_body_resources/neuro/Greenwood-2008_Exercise%20and%20the%20brain.pdf. Retrieved 2 November 2012. 
  18. ↑ "Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience". Psychological Review 123 (4): 349–367. July 2016. doi:10.1037/rev0000033. PMID 27337390. 
  19. ↑ "A revised model of learned helplessness in humans". Journal of Personality 48 (1): 103–133. March 1980. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1980.tb00969.x. PMID 7365672. 
  20. ↑ Wortman, Camille B.; Brehm, Jack W. (1975). "Responses to Uncontrollable Outcomes: An Integration of Reactance Theory and the Learned Helplessness Model". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. 8. pp. 277–336. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60253-1. ISBN 9780120152087. 
  21. ↑ "Learned helplessness among families and surrogate decision-makers of patients admitted to medical, surgical, and trauma ICUs". Chest 142 (6): 1440–1446. December 2012. doi:10.1378/chest.12-0112. PMID 22661454. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Henry, P.C. (2005). "Life stress, explanatory style, hopelessness, and occupational stress". International Journal of Stress Management 12 (3): 241–56. doi:10.1037/1072-5245.12.3.241. 
  23. ↑ Jones, Ishmael (2008, revised 2010). The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture. New York: Encounter Books. ISBN:978-1-59403-223-3.
  24. ↑ "Stressor controllability and learned helplessness: the roles of the dorsal raphe nucleus, serotonin, and corticotropin-releasing factor". Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 29 (4–5): 829–841. 2005. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.03.021. PMID 15893820. http://www.uvm.edu/~shammack/Maier%20and%20Watkins%202005%20review.pdf. 
  25. ↑ "Beyond Depression: Towards a Process-Based Approach to Research, Diagnosis, and Treatment". Clinical Psychology 18 (4): 275–299. December 2011. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.2011.01259.x. PMID 22509072. 
  26. ↑ Chang, E.C.; Sanna, L.J. (2007). "Affectivity and psychological adjustment across two adult generations: Does pessimistic explanatory style still matter?". Personality and Individual Differences 43 (5): 1149–59. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.03.007. 
  27. ↑ Welbourne, J.L.; Eggerth, D.; Hartley, T.A.; Andrew, M.E.; Sanchez, F. (2007). "Coping strategies in the workplace: Relationships with attributional style and job satisfaction". Journal of Vocational Behavior 70 (2): 312–25. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2006.10.006. 
  28. ↑ Bennett, K.K.; Elliott, M. (2005). "Pessimistic explanatory style and Cardiac Health: What is the relation and the mechanism that links them?". Basic and Applied Social Psychology 27 (3): 239–48. doi:10.1207/s15324834basp2703_5. 
  29. ↑ "Why Abuse Can Create Learned Helplessness". 17 May 2013. https://www.growbeyondwords.com/why-abuse-can-create-learned-helplessness/. 
  30. ↑ "Traumatic Bonding". https://did-research.org/origin/d-attachment/traumatic_bonding. 
  31. ↑ Wade, Danielle (May 23, 2023). "What is learned helplessness?". MedicalNewsToday. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325355. 
  32. ↑ Bateson, Gregory; Jackson, Don D.; Haley, Jay; Weakland, John (1965). "Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia". Behavioral Science 1 (4): 251-254. https://solutions-centre.org/pdf/TOWARD-A-THEORY-OF-SCHIZOPHRENIA-2.pdf. 
  33. ↑ Stipek, D.E.P. (1988). Motivation to learning. Allyn & Bacon: Boston.
  34. ↑ Ramirez, E.; Maldonado, A.; Martos, R. (1992). "Attribution modulate immunization against learned helplessness in humans". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 62: 139–46. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.62.1.139. 
  35. ↑ "Maternal self-efficacy: illusory control and its effect on susceptibility to learned helplessness". Child Development 61 (5): 1638–1647. October 1990. doi:10.2307/1130771. PMID 2245753. 
  36. ↑ Goetz, T. E.; Dweck, C. S. (1980). "Learned helplessness in social situations.". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39 (2): 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.2.246. 
  37. ↑ "Aging and health: effects of the sense of control". Science 233 (4770): 1271–1276. September 1986. doi:10.1126/science.3749877. PMID 3749877. Bibcode: 1986Sci...233.1271R. 
  38. ↑ "Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Depression: The Integrated Perspective". Perspectives on Psychological Science 7 (5): 427–449. September 2012. doi:10.1177/1745691612455204. PMID 26168502. http://www.archpsychological.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/deprejudice-txng-dep-n-prejudice-w-tx-for-other.pdf. 
  39. ↑ Cox et al. (2012), p. 433.
  40. ↑ Payne, Ruby K. Framework for understanding poverty. Highlands, Tex: Aha! Process, 2005.
  41. ↑ "Persistence of learned helplessness in humans". The Journal of General Psychology 113 (1): 81–88. January 1986. doi:10.1080/00221309.1986.9710544. PMID 3701307. 
  42. ↑ Altmaier, E.M.; Happ, D.A. (1985). "Coping skills training's immunization effects against learned helplessness". Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 3 (2): 181–9. doi:10.1521/jscp.1985.3.2.181. 
  43. ↑ Thornton, J.W.; Powell, G.D. (1974). "Immunization to and alleviation of learned helplessness in man". American Journal of Psychology 87 (3): 351–67. doi:10.2307/1421378. 
  44. ↑ Orbach, E.; Hadas, Z. (1982). "The elimination of learned helplessness deficits as a function of induced self-esteem". Journal of Research in Personality 16 (4): 511–23. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(82)90009-5. 
  45. ↑ Norman, Donald (1988). The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-0-465-06710-7. 
  46. ↑ Farhart, Christina (2017). "Look Who Is Disaffected Now: Political Causes and Consequences of Learned Helplessness in the U.S". ProQuest Dissertations Publishing: 384. ProQuest 2305842129. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2305842129. 
  47. ↑ Wollman, Neil; Stouder, Robin (August 1991). "Believed Efficacy and Political Activity: A Test of the Specificity Hypothesis" (in en). The Journal of Social Psychology 131 (4): 557–566. doi:10.1080/00224545.1991.9713885. ISSN 0022-4545. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224545.1991.9713885. 
  48. ↑ "KUBARK COUNTERINTELLIGENCE INTERROGATION". CIA. July 1963. pp. Chapter IX. Coercive Counterintelligence Interrogation of Resistant Sources. http://www.parascope.com/articles/0397/kub_ix.htm. "If the debility-dependency-dread state is unduly prolonged, however, the arrestee may sink into a defensive apathy from which it is hard to arouse him." 
  49. ↑ Benedict Carey (10 December 2014). "Architects of C.I.A. Interrogation Drew on Psychology to Induce 'Helplessness'". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/health/architects-of-cia-interrogation-drew-on-psychology-to-induce-helplessness.html. 

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