Scribd
Upload
6 views

Learned Helplessness Experiment Lesson

The document outlines a lesson plan on learned helplessness, a concept where individuals stop trying to escape suffering after experiencing inescapable pain. It details Martin Seligman's 1967 experiment with dogs, explains key concepts, and provides objectives, activities, and discussion questions for students. The lesson aims to help students understand the importance of explanatory styles and the psychological implications of feeling powerless.

Uploaded by

carlojayy.romano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
6 views

Learned Helplessness Experiment Lesson

The document outlines a lesson plan on learned helplessness, a concept where individuals stop trying to escape suffering after experiencing inescapable pain. It details Martin Seligman's 1967 experiment with dogs, explains key concepts, and provides objectives, activities, and discussion questions for students. The lesson aims to help students understand the importance of explanatory styles and the psychological implications of feeling powerless.

Uploaded by

carlojayy.romano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Learned Helplessness Experiment: Doggone Attitudes

Learned Helplessness Experiment: Lesson Plan

Topic

Learned helplessness is a phenomenon in which after experiencing pain or discomfort in


an inescapable situation, an animal or human will cease trying to avoid the suffering.
They believe they have no control over their situation, even if there is an opportunity to
escape. This kind of conditioning was famously studied in Martin Seligman’s Learned
Helplessness Experiment, which was conducted in 1967 at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dogs that were previously conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with pain from a
shock would later lay down on an electrified floor panel rather than jump over to the
visible unelectrified panel.

Possible subjects/classes Time needed

Psychology
30-45 minutes
Sociology

Video link:

https://academy4sc.org/topic/learned-helplessness-experiment-doggone-attitude
s/

Objective: What will students know/be able to do at the end of class?

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to


● Define learned helplessness
● Explain the details and importance of Seligman’s Learned Helplessness
Experiment
● Identify how explanatory styles play a large role in how people react to suffering.

Key Concepts & Vocabulary

Classical conditioning, optimism/optimist, pessimism/pessimist

Materials Needed

Worksheet

Before you watch

Present students with the following query (or a similar one):


Learned Helplessness Experiment: Doggone Attitudes

You’re trapped in a locked room whose floor gives moderately painful but not
permanently harmful electric shocks periodically. What do you do?

No matter what escape attempts the students describe, tell them that it doesn’t work.
After a few minutes, students will stop giving answers. Attempt to encourage them with
such responses such as “Good idea, but no” or “ Huh, that’s a very interesting answer, but
incorrect.” Such encouragement will likely have no effect on them. Once the class falls
silent, ask students, “are you going to wait it out then?” You will likely get frustrated
responses that boil down to “yes.”

Explain to students that in situations where we feel powerless - such as when every
proposed solution is immediately discarded - we stop trying to avoid suffering or find an
escape route. You can debrief this activity with the following questions:
1. Why do you give up instead of trying again? What discourages you?
2. What motivates you to try again? Are words of encouragement or threats of
punishment always effective in getting people to behave in a certain manner?
3. What is the key difference between situations where you try your best and
situations where you give up trying at all?

While you watch

Answer questions 1-3 on the worksheet

After you watch/discussion questions

1. Why do you think Seligman’s findings were so ground-breaking?


2. Who would you expect to have more success, better health, and lower rates of
depression—those with optimistic or pessimistic explanatory styles? Explain your
answer.
3. Taking from Seligman’s experiments, what are some ways you can help someone
realize they have control over a bad situation?

Activity Ideas

1. Complete the worksheet and discuss answers in groups or as a class


2. Ask students to discuss times that they’ve been either optimistic or
pessimistic about a situation.
3. Role play: students practice optimistic responses to various disappointing
scenarios (i.e. getting a bad grade on a test, not getting a part in the school
play, not making a sports team, losing a school election, not getting a job
you wanted).
Learned Helplessness Experiment: Doggone Attitudes

Sources/places to learn more

1. Allor Lauren B., Christopher Peterson, Lyn Y. Abramson, and Martin E. Seligman.
“Attributional style and the generality of learned helplessness.” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, vol 46, issue 3, 1984, pp. 681-687. Doi:
10.1037/0022-3514.46.3.681.
2. Klein, D. C. and Martin E. Seligman. “Reversal of performance deficits and
perceptual deficits in learned helplessness and depression.” Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, vol 85, issue 1, 1976, pp. 11-26. Doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.85.1.11.
3. Maier, Steven F., Jack E. Sherman, James W. Lewis, Greg W. Terman, and John C.
Liebeskind. “The opioid/nonopioid nature of stress-induced analgesia and learned
helplessness.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, vol 9,
issue 1, 1983, pp. 80-90. Doi: 10.1037/0097-7403.9.1.80.
4. Brown, Irvin & Dillon K. Inouye. “Learned helplessness through modeling: The role
of perceived similarity in competence.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
vol 36, issue 8, 1978, pp. 900-908. Doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.36.8.900.
5. Miller, William R. and Martin E.P. Seligman. “Learned helplessness, depression and
the perception of reinforcement.” Behaviour Research and Therapy, vol 14, issue 1,
1976, pp. 7-17. Doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(76)90039-5.

Notes
It would be beneficial if before this lesson, students were made familiar with Pavlov’s dogs
since it was his experiment that ultimately inspired Seligman’s. As such, Seligman further
developed Pavlov’s idea of classical conditioning in an interesting and unexpected way,
which can lead students well acquainted with both scientists’ works with a better
understanding of both experiments.

You might also like