ATTRIBUTION THEORY AND LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

WHO IS MARTIN SELIGMAN?

• An American psychologist educator and author.
• His most popular theory is learned helplessness.

WHAT AREA OF PSYCHOLOGY DID SELIGMAN SPECIALIZE IN?

• He specialized in the area of positive psychology.

WHERE DID SELIGMAN DO HIS WORK?

• He did most of his work at the University of Pennsylvania.

WHAT IS LEARNED HELPLESSNESS?

• It is when people feel they have no control over their situation.
• They tend to give up rather than to fight for control.

SELIGMAN AND MAIER'S EXPERIMENT

• There was 3 groups of dogs.
• Group 1 dogs were simply put in the harnesses for a period of time and later released.
• A dog in Group 2 would be subjected to pain by being given electric shocks.
• Group 2 dog could end pain by pushing lever.
• Group 3 dog was wired in series with a Group 2 dog, receiving shocks of identical intensity.

SELIGMAN AND MAIER'S EXPERIMENT CONT.

• Group 3 dog could not stop shocks with lever.
• To a dog in Group 3, it seemed that the shock ended at random, because it was paired to dog in Group 2.
• Group 1 and Group 2 dogs quickly recovered from the experience.
• Group 3 dogs learned to be helpless and exhibited symptoms similar to chronic clinical depression.
• In Part 2, these three groups of dogs were tested in a shuttle-box apparatus.

SELIGMAN AND MAIER'S EXPERIMENT CONT.

• In part 2, dogs could escape electric shocks by jumping over a low partition.
• Group 3 dogs simply layed down passively and whined.
• They had previously learned that nothing they did had any effect.

WHO IS BENARD WEINER?

• Bernard Weiner is a social psychologist.
• Known for developing a form of attribution theory.

WHAT AREA OF PSYCHOLOGY DID WEINER SPECIALIZE IN?

• Weiner specializes in social psychology.

WHERE DID WEINER DO HIS WORK?

• University of California, Los Angeles.

WHAT IS ATTRIBUTION THEORY?

• Theory that supposes that one attempts to understand the behaviors of...
• others by attributing feelings, beliefs, and intentions to them.

WHAT ARE 3 DIMENSIONS OF ATTRIBUTION?

• Locus of control (two poles: internal vs. external)
• Controllability (causes one can control such as skills vs. causes)
• Stability (do causes change over time or not?)

HOW ARE LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND ATTRIBUTION RELATED?

• Later research discovered that the original theory of learned helplessness failed...
• to account for people's reactions to situations that can cause learned helplessness.
• An individual's attributional style or explanatory style is the key to understanding...
• why people respond differently to adverse events.
• Although a group of people may experience similar negative events...

HOW ARE LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND ATTRIBUTION RELATED? CONT.

• how each person privately interprets or explains the event will affect the likelihood of acquiring learned ...
• helplessness and subsequent depression.