Overcoming Learned Helplessness
Learned Helplessness
Learned helplessness is a thought process in which an organism believes it does not have control over outcomes of their situation or future. M. E. P. Seligman first developed this term after discovering learned helplessness in dogs following experiments in which he induced shock to the animals. Seligman defined learned helplessness as a reaction caused by lack of motivation and movement (Ulusoy & Duy, 2013). Ulusoy and Duy (2013) explain that learned helplessness by Seligman was revisited by Weiners attribution theory, thus adding the dimensions of causality (internal/external) and stability (stable/unstable). The combination of the two theories allows a more rounded and better explained definition of the learned helplessness theory.
In an experiment (1967) done by Seligman and Maier, the two researchers studied a group of dogs. Three groups of dogs were placed in a hammock. In the first group, the shock discontinued if they pressed a panel with their noses. In the second group of dogs, the shock could not be turned off, giving them inescapable shock. The third group of dogs had no shock administered. The animals were then tested in a shuttlebox escape. 90% of the animals in the first group or third group learned how to escape with ease. Two thirds of the animals from the second group, those who were administered the shock constantly, were unable to escape. The dogs of the second group learned there was not a way of controlling or stopping the shock in the hammock, therefore carrying the learned helplessness response onto the shuttlebox (Maier & Seligman, 2016).
Maier and Seligman (2016) continue to explain more research done on animals, rodents who were in a group of inescapable shock showed a wide range of behavioral changes such as, “reduced aggression, reduced social dominance, reduced food and water intake… slowed fear extinction, neophobia, and anxious behaviors on measures such as juvenile social exploration,” (Maier & Seligman, 2016). Following extensive research on the topic Seligman studied the possibility of learned helplessness as a model of clinical depression in humans. Combining animal and human experimental results, eight of the nine symptoms listed in the third and fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders were presented in learned helplessness (Maier & Seligman, 2016). Symptoms and neurological changes due to learned helplessness are similar to those found in anxiety and depression.
Personally, learned helplessness was brought on to me by a series of events that happened within a year. In senior year of high school a close friend was lost by growing apart and transitioning from high school to college. Although this is a seemingly normal event, it struck as traumatic and uncontrollable due to other stressors occurring at the same time. Family issues had also arose, there was a high possibility of divorce between my parents. Internalizing the events caused an increase of irrational thinking that is brought on along with learned helplessness. Ellis “…Asserted that negative feelings are triggered by the belief system of one rather than the event itself. These beliefs resulting in anxiety, depressive or other distressed feelings tend to be irrational,” (Ulusoy & Duy, 2013). Another transition that was occurring at the time of these events was entering the work force at a retail store. The new job added stress as well due to the holiday season and excessive work load. With the irrational thoughts including how my younger siblings will take the divorce, how the transition into college will go, focusing on a job rather than personal issues, and negative thoughts due to losing friends through the transition, I had learned helplessness.
Assisting in the high school library it had occurred to me that anything one may need or want to know could be found in a book. Rather than continuing the negative, self-indulging thought patterns, I began to learn and focus on how I would rather live. My focuses changed to school, work, keeping my younger siblings focused on good things, and self-development books. The previous experience shaped the opinion, and focus of this paper. Although some may feel as if helplessness is a permanent condition, learned helplessness can be overcome.
Learned Helplessness can be Overcome
Positive psychology interventions. After the year 2000 Seligman began to work on positive psychology and prospection. He focused on the causes and consequences of positive events, mental stimulations, and evaluations of the past and present (Maier & Seligman, 2016). Positive psychological interventions aim to increase positive feelings, behaviors, or cognitions; these interventions must also increase well-being in the long term (Schueller & Parks, 2014). Schueller and Parks (2014) continue to state that a positive psychology intervention can only fall under this category if there is empirical evidence that the intervention increases positive feelings, behaviors, and/ or cognitions.
There are several positive psychology interventions discussed by Schueller and Parks (2014); savoring, gratitude, kindness, promoting positive relationship process, and creating meaning. Savoring is the act of focused awareness and elaboration on pleasurable experiences. Schueller and Parks (2014) state, “Individuals who engage in savoring more often have higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, perceived control, and lower levels of depression.” It is also noted that participants that completed a savoring intervention, in which they kept a savoring log, had a significant reduction in negative emotions. (Schueller & Parks, 2014). Learned helplessness comes from loss of control, using savoring as a way to develop perceived control may help individuals who find themselves feeling helpless on a regular basis.
Gratitude encompasses an emotional response, while acknowledging an outside force is responsible for good events that happen to an individual. An increase in well-being and positive emotions, reduced depressive symptoms, and improved health have been results of grateful reflection and gratitude motivated articles (Schuller & Parks, 2014). Kindness is the act of treating others in a positive manner. Those participating in kind acts for others tend to be happier. Engaging in kind acts towards others creates a loop of positive feedback (Schuller & Parks, 2014). Individuals prone to learned helplessness would develop a new appreciation for daily events after engaging in acts of kindness and gratitude on a regular basis. Constantly engaging their mind in positive events and acts would help create a habit of happiness rather than feelings of not having control.
Promoting positive relationship process refers to developing meaningful social relationships and improving the quality of relationships with individuals around oneself. Schuller and Parks (2014) discuss an intervention in which a spouse gave the other active-constructive responses when being approached with good news. Responding in a positive and engaging manner is said to intensify and help savor the experience that is talked about, thus promoting a more positive attitude and sense of appreciation. Creating meaning in one’s life through appreciation of others, items, events, or goals has been consistently found to predict well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction (Schuller & Parks, 2014). Mentioning the cognitive change theory, Schueller and Parks (2014) explain that when people write about past trauma, expressing and describing facts and emotions that were experienced, fewer visits are made to the doctor in the following weeks. Using this method while going through learned helplessness may help individuals process and further understand the situation causing the helpless feelings.
Bibliotherapy. Bibliotherapy is the use of reading materials focused on cognitive and/or behavioral therapy. This therapy can be done individually or with a group. Exercises designed to help an individual overcome feelings associated with depression are often found in the books used for therapy. A meta-analysis (2016) done by Gregory, Schwer, Lee, and Wise explains the benefits of bibliotherapy. Benefits include high accessibility to a wide variety of individuals, and an immediate, inexpensive and noninvasive treatment. The authors continue to explain the individuals may feel as if they are in control over their treatment and condition (Gregory, Schwer, Lee, & Wise, 2016). Bibliotherapy is important in that it helps the individual using the style of therapy to read through and process the emotions and events that may have caused their depressive, helpless state of mind.
Jamison and Scogin (1995) state, “Several studies have found cognitive bibliotherapy to be an effective treatment for depression with older adult samples.” The researchers conducted a study in which participants read a self-help book called Feeling Good by David Burns. The participants were requested to read the book within four weeks, following treatment there were three follow up sessions. The results of the study suggest it was an effective treatment with statistically and clinically significant results. It is noted three months following the treatment, the experimental group maintained their results (Jamison & Scogin, 1995). Although this study focuses on depression, as mentioned previously, this style of therapy would be beneficial for those who struggle with learned helplessness. The readings and exercises would allow individuals to understand their thought process and begin to develop new ways of thinking.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy usually includes the individual seeking help and the therapist. Individuals are taught problem solving skills, crisis response plans, and also role play in situations that may hinder them, such as being assertive (Maier & Seligman, 2016). Maier and Seligman (2016) explain the same neurological pathways that are hindered in individuals who experience learned helplessness are also altered through cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is future oriented and focused on issues that arise within the individual seeking treatment. These practices are crucial in developing a mindset of hope and understanding rather than helplessness.
Learned Helplessness is a Permanent Condition.
Sergeant and Mongrain (2011) ask if positive psychology exercises are helpful for people with depressive personality styles. Participants of this study were randomly assigned to either a gratitude exercise condition, music condition in which they listened to uplifting songs, or an early memories condition which they recalled and wrote about memories. There were no significant effects found on depressive symptoms or self-esteem reports to any of the three conditions (Sergeant & Mongrain, 2011). The authors stated the active conditions, the gratitude condition and early memories condition, had a negative impact on needy individuals. This is important to note because the vast majority of studies over positive psychology have shown improvements or no change rather than a negative change (Sergeant & Mongrain, 2011). The results of this study emphasize individuals have unique needs to be met. It may be that the reflective conditions had a reverse effect on the needy individuals causing them to focus on negative events rather than positive events.
In 2013, researchers Ulusoy and Duy completed a study over a psycho-education program focused on learned helplessness and irrational beliefs. The participants of this study were eight graders of an elementary school, one group was administered the psycho-education program while the other group was given information over adolescence. The researchers intended on lessening irrational beliefs and changing attributional styles of the participants. The program was effective in lessening irrational beliefs but did not have an effect on learned helplessness of the students (Ulusoy & Duy, 2013). The authors note the program focused heavily on optimism and combatting irrational beliefs. This study indicated optimism and combating irrational beliefs did not have a significant effect on learned helplessness.
Research Critique
Three of the six research articles used in this paper were analyses over multiple research articles. Schuller and Parks (2014) analyzed multiple areas of self-help and positive psychology techniques. This article is relatively recent, being within a seven year window, and was also found on a reliable data base. Maier and Seligman (2016) reviewed learned helplessness with the insights of neuroscience. This article is also new research, they bridged the gap between neuroscience and psychology throughout this article. The article allowed for a psychologist to get a glimpse of the neurological changes that occur in learned helplessness. Maier and Seligman’s article was also found on an electronic database. The last article, over cognitive bibliotherapy by Gregory, Schwer, Lee, and Wise (2004), included an analysis over a few dozen empirical studies. The article was also found on an electronic database, although it is a little later than the other two articles mentioned, 29 studies were reviewed and the authors created a well-rounded analysis.
Jamison and Scogin (1995) focused on the effectiveness of cognitive bibliotherapy with depressed adults. This study utilized self-report tests and observer ratings. The participants were assessed before treatment, immediately after treatment, and then three months after treatment. The quality of measurement of this study is good due to the use of self-report and observer-rated measures. This study did not have a control group and measured for a correlation regarding depression and cognitive bibliotherapy. Although correlational studies can be reliable, this study had several limitations. The two limitations that alter the validity and reliability of this study are the researchers and participants not being blind to treatment assignments, as well as, participants being self-selected.
The study conducted by Sergeant and Mongrain (2011) focused on positive psychology exercises and their effectiveness for people with depressive personality styles. The study was correlational and participants were recruited online. All participants completed a total of six self-report tests. This study seems more reliable than most, there was a large number of participants which could be generalized for the population. The notable limitation of this study is that the participation in the positive psychology techniques that were practiced only lasted one week.
Ulusoy and Duy’s study (2013) on learned helplessness and irrational beliefs being effected by a psycho-education program utilized self-report tests before and after participants received treatment. This study was an experimental study because there were three groups, placebo, control, and experimental. Due to the limitations being the participants were in eighth grade and the focus of the program I would say this study was not very valid or reliable.
Conclusion
Knowing the plasticity of the brain, learned helplessness can be overcome when individuals are presented with the right methods based on their specific needs. With new research being completed in the areas mentioned throughout the article, positive psychology, bibliotherapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, there is no doubt researchers will continue to find ways for those who are affected by learned helplessness to overcome their negative thought process. Future research should focus on what methods may work for which individuals. There should also be more studies conducted over positive psychology, expanding the knowledge in this field will not only benefit those with learned helplessness and other mood disorders, it will also benefit the general population in helping create more positive thinkers.
References
Gregory, R. J., Schwer Canning, S., Lee, T. W., & Wise, J. C. (2004). Cognitive bibliotherapy for depression: A meta-analysis. Professional Psychology: Research and practice, 35(3), 275–280.
Jamison, C., & Scogin, F. (1995). The outcome of cognitive bibliotherapy with depressed adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(4), 644–650.
Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. P. (2016). Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. Psychological Review, 123(4), 349–367.
Schueller, S. M., & Parks, A. C. (2014). The science of self-help: Translating positive psychology research into increased individual happiness. European Psychologist, 19(2), 145–155.
Sergeant, S., & Mongrain, M. (2011). Are positive psychology exercises helpful for people with depressive personality styles? Journal of Positive Psychology, 6, 260–272.
Ulusoy, Y., & Duy, B. (2013). Effectiveness of a psycho-education program on learned helplessness and irrational beliefs. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(3), 1440–1446.
