The Phenomenon of Learned Helplessness

Can a person influence his fate or is it predetermined? In fact, this question has been the subject of debate among philosophers for many centuries. Supporters of free will believe that it is a person who determines his future with his actions. Determinists are sure that a person’s future is already predetermined and no matter what you do, you cannot influence it.

Are you a determinist or a supporter of free will? Find out here with the help of a quick test «Free Will vs Determinism».

It is quite difficult to imagine that a supporter of free will would stop fighting for his life. But even this is possible under certain circumstances. A determinist who is sure that his actions will not affect anything finds it much easier to fall into a state of learned helplessness.

Learned helplessness is a psychological state in which a person feels that he is not able to influence the events in his life and therefore he generally refuses even to try to change anything. A person in this state is sure in advance that he will not succeed. This term was first introduced into scientific literature in 1967. Its author is the American psychologist Martin Seligman, who described this condition after a series of experiments on animals.

Symptoms of learned helplessness manifest themselves in different areas of a person's life. Let's look at 10 main signs:

• A constant feeling of hopelessness and lack of control over events in life.
• Complete or partial loss of motivation and interest in achieving goals.
• A pronounced feeling of helplessness in certain situations, even when there are real opportunities for change for the better.
• Decreased self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Permanent manifestations of depressive mood and anxiety.
• Avoiding personal responsibility and finding ways to solve problems.
• A pronounced feeling that nothing in life will change, even when trying to do something.
• Faith in one's talents and one's own potential disappears.
• There is a tendency to self-isolation and avoid communication with people around you.
• Constant thoughts about the futility of efforts, since they will not lead to anything anyway.

As can be seen from the list above, learned helplessness is a pronounced and rather dangerous psychological state of a person. In order to begin the process of changing thinking and actions for the better, it is important for a person to understand the reasons for this phenomenon.

Triggers for the development of this state can be different, but they all boil down to certain negative experiences.

• Repeated failures: even small but frequent failures can break a person. Convinced that he is a loser, a person simply no longer believes in a positive outcome of his actions.
• Negative experience: serious negative events in the past can create a persistent opinion about the unfairness of life. These thoughts undermine faith in yourself and your own capabilities.
• Demotivating attitudes: a tendency toward pessimistic thinking leads to a lack of strength and desire to change your life.
• A person's environment: a harmful environment in which there are no supportive people and positive examples of overcoming difficulties. This increases the feeling of helplessness.
• Criticism and cynicism: a cynical view of any event, even a positive one. Frequent reproaches and critical remarks undermine self-confidence and contribute to the formation of helplessness.
• Fear of responsibility: we are all afraid of failure. But for some people, this fear reaches such proportions that they prefer not to act at all. After all, if you do nothing, then there will be no responsibility for failure.
• Sociocultural factors: the mood in society and a certain culture can illuminate life situations as something inevitable and insurmountable.
• Depressed state: it is difficult for a person to express their feelings and thoughts, which often leads to self-isolation.
• Inappropriate reactions from others: Harsh and insensitive reactions from others can undermine a person’s self-confidence and make them feel helpless.

Research into learned helplessness began with animal experiments by American psychologist Martin Seligman and his colleagues.

Martin Seligman conducted several studies on learned helplessness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In one of the key experiments with dogs, Seligman and his colleagues placed dogs in a large box divided by a partition into two parts so that the animals had the opportunity to jump over it.

In one part of the box, the dogs were given an electric shock, and the original goal of the experiment was to force them to move to a safe area to avoid the shock. The dogs could leave the danger zone at any time by jumping over the partition. But to the surprise of the researchers, most of the animals that had previously received a shock regardless of their location in the box did not even attempt to do so. The animals simply sat in place, waiting for the next shock. They showed inaction and helplessness, although they had a real and fairly easy opportunity to avoid suffering.

In the next experiment, Seligman divided the dogs into three groups. The first group had the opportunity to press a button and thus turn off the electric current. The second group of dogs did not have the opportunity to turn off the current on their own, the mechanism was turned off for a while only when the button was pressed simultaneously with the shutdown button in the first group. Thus, in the eyes of the dogs of the second group, turning off the electric shocks did not have a direct dependence on their actions - sometimes the current was turned off, but more often - not. The third group of dogs was not exposed to electric current at all.

The dogs were then placed in the box already familiar from the first experiment with two parts - dangerous and safe. Seligman's hypothesis was that the dogs from the second group, knowing that nothing depended on them, would not even try to take any action.

Most of the other scientists privy to the experiment were skeptical. They believed that animals would not be able to develop behavior that was not conditioned by a reward or punishment, since Seligman's theory contradicted the then-dominant idea of ​​behaviorism.

But the experiment was successful and confirmed Seligman's assumptions. The dogs from the first group, who had previously turned off the current themselves, easily found a way out of the situation and moved to a safe part of the box. They knew that they could influence their fate. The dogs from the third group, who had not previously been subjected to electric shocks, generally also coped with the task quite quickly and found themselves safe. They had no previous negative experience when their actions would lead to failure. But six out of eight dogs in the second group did not even try to jump over the partition to avoid the shock. It was this group that had previously received shocks almost by accident and the animals' actions had no effect on this. According to Seligman, this was a depressing sight: the dogs simply lay down on the bottom of the box and waited for the next shock.

Further studies only confirmed the results. Animals that were used to the fact that their actions influenced the outcome could adapt and change their behavior to find a way out of the situation. And vice versa - animals that were used to the futility of their actions tried to do anything less and less.

Learned helplessness can also be of a collective nature. As a rule, its occurrence is influenced by limited resources, suppression of any manifestation of individuality and creativity. An authoritarian or patriarchal system of governance in society, where the authorities or elders “know best”, and other people are better off being “like everyone else” and “keeping a low profile”, also has a huge influence.

Collective helplessness can also develop at the organizational level, where strict instructions or despotic management limit the initiative of employees. Over time, initiatives simply cease to arise, because in the opinion of employees, this will not affect work processes and results in any way.

In collective learned helplessness, group members agree that the situation will not change in any way, so there is no point in doing anything.

Religious communities can also support a state of learned helplessness. For example, belief in the predetermination of all events often convinces a person not to take any drastic actions, because it will not affect anything anyway. After all, if higher powers have predetermined it this way, then there is no point in interfering with it. Such determinism does not allow one to take advantage of opportunities to improve one’s life.

Learned helplessness often occurs against the background of other psychological disorders and intensifies them. Often these are depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, avoidant disorder, and dependent personality disorder.

The symptoms of these disorders can also increase the feeling of helplessness and lead to a pattern of negative thinking. The above conditions can reinforce each other, creating serious problems for mental health and quality of life.

The dogs from the second group of Seligman's experiments needed to be shown many times how to avoid electric shocks - the scientists literally carried them in their arms to a safe part of the box. Only after that were they able to independently improve their lives by jumping over the partition.

People also require systematic work on changing their thinking and behavior. Positive examples in the environment are very important. Here are some techniques that will help on the path to positive changes:

• Positive thinking: develop an optimistic view of your life and your own capabilities;
• Self-analysis: analyze the reasons for negative thinking and inaction in order to take the right action;
• Set goals and achieve them: setting small achievable goals and systematic work lead to positive changes;
• Support from family and friends: communication with friends and relatives who can share positivity. Avoid a negative environment with pessimistic views.

Learned helplessness is a dangerous psychological state of a person, limiting the quality of life and favorable opportunities for its improvement. .