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Psychological Phenomena

Learned Helplessness

Clinical and Motivational Phenomena

Learned helplessness is the behavior a subject exhibits after enduring repeated aversive stimuli that were beyond its control. In humans, it is related to the concept of self-efficacy, a person's belief in their own ability to achieve goals, and learned helplessness theory holds that clinical depression and related mental illnesses may result from a real or perceived absence of control over the outcome of a situation.

Facts
Core Claim
Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control 1
First Described Year
1967 1
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Behavioral Phenomenon 1
Sources
1. Learned helplessness, Wikipedia
  • Lead section, paragraph 1
    Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control.
  • Early experiments section
    American psychologist Martin Seligman initiated research on learned helplessness in 1967 at the University of Pennsylvania as an extension of his interest in depression.
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
    Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control.
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