this effect (Hiroto, 1974; Hiroto & Seligman, 1975). Instead of inescapable
shock, irritating (but not painful) loud noise was used. Participants were told
they could turn off the noise by solving a problem (for example, pressing
some buttons in the correct sequence). Some participants quickly worked
through dozens of these problems, turning off each noise blast by figuring
out the answer. However, other participants were given problems for which
there were no solutions. Like the dogs in the earlier studies, these peoplesoon learned there was no way to escape the aversive stimulus.
Would these people generalize their feelings of helplessness to other situa-
tions? Participants were taken out of the noise situation and given a different
Residents of old-age homes often have many of their daily tasks, such as cooking and
cleaning, taken care of by the staff. However, a learned helplessness analysis suggests thatthis reduction in control may lead to problems with adjustment and health for the elderly.
Photo by Marlene SomsakLearned Helplessness 397