Ramblings 4: Learned Helplessness

Learned Helplessness: We're not so Independent

I was on my way to work when I suddenly recalled a study that I had read about in psychology. 

It had to do with operant and classical conditioning, which is when you condition an animal/person to do certain behaviours. 

Like training a dog to sit, fetch or come when you call. You call dog, dog looks at you, you give it a treat. Then you build up from there, withholding treat until the dog gets up and comes to you when called. That is it simplified, there are other ways as well.

The experiment was done by Seligman in early 1965. He trained various dogs to avoid shocks from an electrified floor in a cage when a light turned on. When the light was on the dog would jump over the barrier to safety. They also had condition with no light. The dog would still jump.

Then he thought of this; he put the dog in a hammock and did the same light and shock association. thinking that after the dog was removed from the hammock it would learn to jump to safety.

What he discovered is something called Learned Helplessness. When the dog was released and shown the light it just cowered, and lay down taking the shocks. 

Not even attempting to get away. It was had learned not to react since it believed there was nothing it could do.

However not all dogs cowered in later experiments some became vicious.

In another experiment the scientists gradually increased the voltage on a dog that could not get away. What they did was give it a weak shock then a stronger and then the next “weak” shock would be slightly stronger than the last and the stronger shock stronger than the last. The dog would react less and less to the weaker shocks even though they were the equivalent of stronger shocks made later. Eventually the dog did not react to any shock.

Know the frog experiment? Toss a frog into boiling water and it will jump out but if you put it in a pot of cool water and gradually turn up the heat the frog will just stay in that water until it boils to death?

Well, that was a bit long winded. I thought I should give you a little background… I hope it wasn’t too garbled!

Main Point:

The above is what I think about whenever I see peoples reactions to debt, gas prices, food prices or any changes in the world. 

Gas prices soar to 2 dollars from 60 cents, people cry outrage. The gas price, drops to 70, then shoots up to nearly 2,50 dollars and then drops to 80. Etc, etc, and each time people react less and less to prices they nearly rioted over a year ago. 

It is so… blatant.

You can see this kind of MARKETING strategy in a lot of places, you can see it in our food, our clothes, in products we buy and in the wars that are fought.

People are being conditioned, there’s even brainwashing involved in this to make sure you don’t think too hard about your conditioned responses.

Because of our conditioning we think always that someone else will do something. Someone else will take care of it. One person can not make change. Though almost everywhere you go you hear that you can do it.

It's why if someone collapses in a crowded hallway, you don't say SOMEONE CALL 911! You say YOU IN GREEN SWEATER CALL 911 NOW! Otherwise you stand the chance that no one will call.

Humans adapt, we can get used to almost anything… but why should we get accustomed to things that isn't good for us?

Why is it that we study so much psychology and science but rarely carry it over as to how it is used on us? 

Guess we don't like to admit how easily we are manipulated. I know I don't.

Info about learned helplessness: http://www.noogenesis.com/malama/discouragement/helplessness.html