Psychology Learned Helplessness Doctor Seligman Essay

Psychology Learned Helplessness Doctor Seligman - Essay Example The hypÐ ¾thesized depressive explÐ °nÐ °tÐ ¾ry style is chÐ °rÐ °cterized by internÐ °l, stÐ °ble, Ð °nd glÐ ¾bÐ °l Ð °ttributiÐ ¾ns fÐ ¾r negÐ °tive events, Ð °nd externÐ °l, unstÐ °ble Ð °nd specific Ð °ttributiÐ ¾ns fÐ ¾r pÐ ¾sitive events. Ð lthÐ ¾ugh nÐ ¾t every study exÐ °mining the questiÐ ¾n Ð ¾f whether depressed individuÐ °ls hÐ °ve this explÐ °nÐ °tÐ ¾ry style hÐ °s cÐ ¾rrÐ ¾bÐ ¾rÐ °ted this hypÐ ¾thesis, there hÐ °ve been Ð ° lÐ °rge number Ð ¾f suppÐ ¾rtive studies. Indeed, Sweeney, Ð ndersÐ ¾n, Ð °nd BÐ °iley (1986) cÐ ¾nducted Ð ° metÐ °-Ð °nÐ °lysis Ð ¾f 104 studies Ð °nd cÐ ¾ncluded thÐ °t there wÐ °s strÐ ¾ng suppÐ ¾rt fÐ ¾r the link between the pessimistic explÐ °nÐ °tÐ ¾ry style fÐ ¾r negÐ °tive events Ð °nd depressiÐ ¾n, Ð °nd weÐ °k tÐ ¾ mÐ ¾derÐ °te suppÐ ¾rt fÐ ¾r the link between the pessimistic style fÐ ¾r pÐ ¾sitive events Ð °nd depressiÐ ¾n. LeÐ °rned helplessness is Ð ° phenÐ ¾menÐ ¾n cÐ ¾ntÐ °ining three cÐ ¾mpÐ ¾nents: cÐ ¾ntingency, cÐ ¾gnitiÐ ¾n, Ð °nd behÐ °viÐ ¾r. CÐ ¾ntingency Ð °ddresses the uncÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾llÐ °bility Ð ¾f the situÐ °tiÐ ¾n. CÐ ¾gnitiÐ ¾n refers tÐ ¾ the Ð °ttributiÐ ¾ns thÐ °t peÐ ¾ple mÐ °ke regÐ °rding their situÐ °tiÐ ¾n Ð ¾r surrÐ ¾undings Ð ¾f which they Ð °re Ð ° pÐ °rt. BehÐ °viÐ ¾r Ð °llÐ ¾ws individuÐ °ls tÐ ¾ decide whether they will give up Ð ¾r prÐ ¾ceed with the Ð ¾bstÐ °cle set befÐ ¾re them (PetersÐ ¾n, MÐ °ier, & SeligmÐ °n, 1993). When peÐ ¾ple experience leÐ °rned helplessness, they hÐ °ve Ð ° tendency tÐ ¾ give up eÐ °sily Ð ¾r fÐ °il mÐ ¾re Ð ¾ften Ð °t sÐ ¾mewhÐ °t eÐ °sier tÐ °sks. LeÐ °rned helplessness is mÐ ¾re likely tÐ ¾ result frÐ ¾m situÐ °tiÐ ¾ns where fÐ °ilure is uncÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾llÐ °ble. FÐ ¾r exÐ °mple, GernigÐ ¾n, FleurÐ °nce, Ð °nd Reine (2000) cÐ ¾nducted Ð ° study Ð ¾n fÐ °ilure in cÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾lled Ð °nd uncÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾lled circumstÐ °nces. They fÐ ¾und thÐ °t fÐ °ilure wÐ °s mÐ ¾re likely tÐ ¾ Ð ¾ccur in uncÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾llÐ °ble circumstÐ °nces. Ð nÐ ¾ther study, cÐ ¾nducted by Stiensmieier-Pelster Ð °nd SchurmÐ °nn (1989), Ð °ddressed fÐ °ilure in terms Ð ¾f blÐ °ming the results Ð ¾n internÐ °l Ð ¾r externÐ °l fÐ °ctÐ ¾rs Ð °nd hÐ ¾w perfÐ ¾rmÐ °nce wÐ °s

Daydreamer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Daydreamer - Essay Example I was happy about that, because I felt smarter, like I was a more rational person. Unfortunately, I started to realize that as logic and rationality were building up in my mind, imagination was flowing out. The day that I first really noticed that this was happening, I was at my cousins’ house. We were hanging out and telling ghost stories, just like we had a long time ago, when we were just kids and really believed all the stories we told. The day before, I had been trying to write a story. I stared at my computer screen, but I could not dredge up one single good idea from the depths my mind. I slapped the lid of my laptop shut with disgust and tried to think about other things, thinking that an idea would come floating into my head when I wasn’t reaching out for it so desperately. Now, at my cousins’ house, we were talking about all the ghosts we used to believe in. We talked like we all still believed, though. At least, my cousins did. They talked about all th e hauntings and the ways we used to scare ourselves like it was real. I kind of nodded and laughed along with them, not sure if we were playing a game for the sake of old-times, or if they really meant it. One of my cousins, Sam, brought up the story of Adrian, a ghost we used to think haunted our grandparents’ house. We used to convince ourselves that every little sound or shadow was Adrian. We even made a little spinner, like a spinner from a board game, with a tack and a cardboard arrow that we could flick to make it twirl around and point to words we’d written on a piece of paper. â€Å"Yes / No / Maybe† were the words we’d scrawled in our big round kids’ handwriting. ... next to an open window, and all say together, â€Å"Adrian, Adrian, are you there?† If nothing happened (and nothing usually did), we would go off and play, and come back and check on the spinner to see if it had moved. If it was pointing to â€Å"yes,† we would start running around, giggling and screaming. The rare times when there was a breeze right at the time we said our little chant, and the spinner moved right before our eyes, we would completely freak out, no matter which of the words it was pointing to. â€Å"Yes† meant â€Å"yes,† and â€Å"maybe† meant yes, but he was being coy with us. â€Å"No† naturally meant there was some other ghost hanging around; perhaps a more sinister one than Adrian. That day we sat at the kitchen table, drinking Cokes and laughing about what silly kids we used to be, but when my cousins talked about Adrian, it was with total seriousness. â€Å"Remember the time he pulled the blankets down on my bed?â₠¬  Sam asked. â€Å"Oh yeah!† said Dana. â€Å"Or when he knocked down that statue of a brass cat that Grandma used to have on the shelf?† I couldn’t stand it anymore. Were they serious? â€Å"Guys,† I said. â€Å"You know Adrian wasn’t real, right? You know that that statue could have fallen down for a lot of different reasons, and you probably half-dreamed your blankets being pulled off when they really just fell. Tell me you don’t still believe in Adrian.† â€Å"No way!† Dana shook her head. â€Å"There’s no way that statue could have just fallen down by itself. It was way back on the shelf. And I know Sam wasn’t dreaming about the blankets. Tell the story, Sam.† Sam stared at me like he thought I had lost my mind. â€Å"I was sleeping at Grandma’s house one night, and I woke up and couldn’t move. I felt this presence in the room with