Learned Helplessness and Attribution Theory

Learned Helplessness and Attribution Theory

Seligman conducted his work and research at the University of Pennsylvania, starting in 1967.

Martin Seligman

Learned Helplessness

Martin Seligman is an American psychologist, educator and the Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center and Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology in the Penn Department of Psychology.

Learned Helplessness is defined as when a condition of a human or animal has learned to behave helpless and fails to respond even if there are opportunities for help by avoiding unwanted situations or by gaining positive rewards.

Experiment Continued

The dogs were then placed in a shuttle box, and the dogs from the first and second group quickly realized that jumping the barrier stopped the shocks. The third gr of dogs made no attempts to jump the barrier. The dog's previous experiences developed a reaction cognitively that nothing they did would stop the shocks that they were subjected to.

Seligman and Maier's Experiment

Positive Psychology

Area of Psychology

In the experiment, one group of dogs were put into a harness for a period of time ,then released.

Seligman and Maier's experiment with dogs started by noticing how dogs used to shocks acted helpless even if there was a way out of that situation.

The second group was placed in the same harnesses but had electric shocks delivered to them that could be avoided by pressing their noses against a panel.

Bernard Weiner specializes social psychology.

Connection with Learned Helplessness

The third group received the same electrical shocks in the same harness put had no control over the shocks like the second group.

Learned Helplessness and the Attribution Theory are connected that in the fact that people tend to try to get out of a situation, but when they fail, they think their efforts are useless. The see no way out of the situation and think there is nothing they can do but act helpless.

Bernard Weiner

The 3 Dimensions

Seligman specializes in a scientific field known as Positive Psychology.

Bernard Weiner is a social psychologist that developed the attribution theory, which is supposed to explain the emotional and motivational entailments of academic success and failure.

1. Locus of control (internal versus external)

2. Stability (do changes occur over time?)

3.Controlability (causes one can control and cannot control)

Weiner conducted his research and work at the University of California.

Positive Psychology aims to focus on the positives in life, to nurture genius and enhance people's well being, as opposed to studying and focusing on mental illness.

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