learned helplessness, optimism and resilience

Learned optimism is very much a positive psychology concept; it's the opposite of learned helplessness: a phenomenon whereby individuals believe they are incapable of changing their circumstances after repeatedly experiencing a stressful event

1. Helplessness versus mastery orientations, Optimism & Resilience

2. What Is Learned Helplessness and Why Does it Happen? Is it competence problem/ control problem? Is it related to animals only ?

3. Experiment The first people to describe learned helplessness were the American psychologists Steven F. Maier and Martin E. P. Seligman. Martin Seligman conducted a series of classic experiments in the 1960s (Seligman & Maier, 1967) in which some dogs were placed in a chamber where they received electric shocks from which they could not escape (the non-escape condition).

4. The dogs in the escape group could escape the shocks by pressing a panel with their nose. In the second phase, the animals were placed in shuttle boxed divided by a barrier in the middle that the dogs could jump in order to escape the shocks. Only the dogs that had learned to escape in the previous phase tried to jump. The other dogs did not. When the dogs in the 'non-escape' condition were given the opportunity to escape the shocks by jumping across a partition, most failed to even try; they seemed to just give up and passively accept any shocks the experimenters chose to administer. In comparison, dogs who were previously allowed to escape the shocks tended to jump the partition and escape the pain.

5. Seligman described a syndrome with three main features to describe this behavior (1967): A motivational deficit characterized by a failure to respond when challenged with further aversive events; An associative deficit characterized by impairment of learning from successful coping; An emotional deficit characterized by apparent under reactivity to painful events.

6. Examples of Learned Helplessness in Human s ???

7. Learned helplessness in people Learned helplessness has also been associated with several different psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, phobias, shyness, and loneliness. The three elements of learned helplessness contingency , cognition , and behavior.

8. Contingency : the belief that there is a relationship between events and behaviors, cognition : how people think about these relationships Behavior: the actions they take as a result of observing the relationship between actions and events.

9. People with learned Helplessness: Feel helpless to take action with the belief that the situation is beyond their control. Use negative self-talk in the form of permanent and pervasive explanations to describe bad events.  When faced with adversity, they act as pessimists and give up too soon or spiral into hopelessness. May suffer from depression, anxiety and stress . Excessive worrying can also impact their sleep and lead to poor health.

10. People with learned Optimism:  Feel inspired to take action with the belief that they can change their situation. Use positive self-talk in the form of temporary and specific explanations to describe bad events. When faced with adversity, they act as optimists and keep pushing forward instead of ruminating about their past. Enjoy more success at work, better health, relationships and overall quality of life.

11. OPTIMISM Optimism is a mental attitude. The word ‘optimism’ comes from the Latin word ‘optimum,’ meaning ‘the best. characterized by hope and confidence in success and a positive future. Optimists tend to view hardships as learning experiences or temporary setbacks .  In psychology, optimism or dispositional optimism is a set of beliefs and traits that help individuals in reflecting on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative ones. It is a personality pattern that displays resilience and personal strength.

12. The Dispositional Theory of Optimism They argued that it is the presence of positive traits that increases the chances of something good happening to us. The dispositional theory of optimism suggests that optimism leads to positive consequences in life, and pessimism leads to stressful outcomes and increased dissatisfaction ( Scheier and Carver 1992, Scheier , Carver, and Bridges 2001 ). Charles Carver and Michael Scheier introduced the term ‘dispositional optimism.’

13. The basic tenets of the dispositional theory of optimism Optimism is a built-in trait or personality disposition. Optimism is directly associated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress. Optimistic individuals are overall healthy – both physically and emotionally. Optimism calls for increased resilience and coping strategies. A positive outlook helps people to  accept themselves unconditionally . Optimistic individuals are less likely to engage in denial or avoidance  defense mechanisms  (Chang et al. 1997).

14. Explanatory style Explanatory style refers to how people habitually explain the causes of good and bad events. Dr . Martin Seligman explained that "while you can't control your experiences, you can control your explanations" (Learned Optimism, 1998). Seligman described optimism and pessimism as worldviews characterized by the way we think about setbacks and victories.

15. 3 Ps

16. Optimists explain the causes of victories in a way that maximizes their positivity. They attribute positive events, such as a job promotion or a good grade on a test, to their hard work and good character (internal factors). In the case of negative events, optimists tend to explain causes in a way that minimizes negativity by attributing events to external factors (e.g., "unlucky timing") or specific internal factors (e.g., "I am not very good at math") rather than global internal factors (e.g., "I am not very smart").

17. Pessimists, on the other hand, attribute victories in a way that minimizes personal involvement. They might attribute a good grade to the test not being very difficult and believe they won't receive good grades very often. In the case of negative events, pessimists tend to maximize negativity by blaming themselves and attributing events to causes they believe they should have been able to control.

18. Explanatory Style Dimensions Abraham, Seligman and Teasdale (1978) postulated that the way in which we attribute negative outcomes plays a role in mediating the negative psychological impact of adverse events .

19. The way we explain positive and negative events in our lives can influence our resilience and emotional well-being. The first step to increasing resilience is to identify our explanatory style and recognize when it is dictating our worldview.

20. Overcoming Learned Helplessness Psychotherapy Self Care Strategies Social Support

21. Impact of Optimism Better Health Persistence Greater Achievement Emotional Health Increased Longevity

22. Potential Pitfalls Poor risk assessment:  Toxic Positivity Optimism Bias