learned helplessness

(noun)

The condition of a human or animal that has learned to behave helplessly, failing to respond even though there are opportunities for it to help itself by avoiding unpleasant circumstances or by gaining positive rewards.

Related Terms

Examples of learned helplessness in the following topics:

  • Attitude and Health

    • Learned optimism refers to the development of one's potential for this optimized outlook; it is the belief that one can influence the future in tangible and meaningful ways.
    • In contrast, learned helplessness is the belief that one has no control over the events in one's life.
    • Learned helplessness is associated with depression and anxiety, both of which threaten a person's physical and mental well-being; it can also contribute to poor health when people neglect diet, exercise, and medical treatment, falsely believing they have no power to change.
    • Research suggests that optimism and positive outlooks are associated with increased health and well-being, while pessimism and learned helplessness decrease health.

  • Bandura's and Rotter's Social-Cognitive Theories of Personality

    • Albert Bandura is a behavioral psychologist credited with creating social learning theory.
    • Cognitive processes refer to all characteristics previously learned, including beliefs, expectations, and personality characteristics.
    • Julian Rotter is a clinical psychologist who was influenced by Bandura's social learning theory after rejecting a strict behaviorist approach.
    • An external locus of control may relate to learned helplessness, a behavior in which an organism forced to endure painful or unpleasant stimuli becomes unable or unwilling to avoid subsequent encounters with those stimuli, even if they are able to escape.
    • Evidence has supported the theory that locus of control is learned and can be modified.

  • Depressive Disorders

    • The preexisting vulnerability can be either genetic, implying an interaction between nature and nurture, or schematic, resulting from views of the world learned in childhood.

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    • In CBT, individuals learn to identify thoughts that make them feel afraid or upset and replace them with less distressing thoughts.
    • Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is a psychological injury that results from exposure to prolonged social and/or interpersonal trauma in the context of dependence, captivity, or entrapment (a situation lacking a viable escape route for the victim), which results in the lack or loss of control, helplessness, and deformations of identity and sense of self.

  • Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

    • Understanding how learning and behavior work in the reward circuit of the brain can help in understanding drug-seeking behavior and addiction.
    • Treatments for addiction usually involve planning for specific ways to avoid the addictive stimulus and/or therapeutic interventions intended to help a client learn healthier ways to find satisfaction.

  • Cluster C: Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders

    • In order to be diagnosed, the person must allow others to take over and run their life; is submissive, clingy, and fears separation; cannot make decisions without advice and reassurance from others; lacks self-confidence; cannot do things on their own; and/or feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone.
    • Under the environmental theory, OCPD is seen as a learned behavior.

  • Defining Learning

  • Defining Learning

  • Specific Learning Disorder

    • Specific learning disorder is a classification of disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner within one of several domains.
    • Often referred to as learning disabilities, learning disorders are characterized by inadequate development of specific academic, language, and speech skills.
    • The causes of learning disabilities are not well understood.
    • Learning disabilities often run in the family—children with learning disabilities are likely to have parents or other relatives with similar difficulties.
    • Social support may also improve learning for students with learning disabilities.

  • Latent Learning

    • Latent learning occurs without any obvious conditioning or reinforcement of a behavior, illustrating a cognitive component to learning.
    • Latent learning is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response.
    • Latent learning implies that learning can take place without any behavioral changes being immediately present.
    • Latent learning can be a form of observational learning (i.e., learning derived from the observation of other people or events), though it can also occur independently of any observation.
    • This demonstrates latent learning: Ravi had learned the route to school but had no need to demonstrate this knowledge earlier.