Learned Helplessness in the Workplace

Running Head wise(p) weakness in the piece of unravel writing versed weakness in the Workplace Psychology 320 November 22, 2010 Professor Sprinkle hornswoggle In the late 1960s and proto(prenominal) 1970s Mr. Martin Seligman began to psychoanalyse what effects environment baffle on non unless animals, only sympathetic beings. His studies were an attempt to crack what ramifications step to the foreside influences could have on a live beings motivation and take away for winner. He started his studies by giving rats electric shocks.They were inadvertent and without cause, and this was so the rats had no way of ratiocination what could cause or pr even sot the shocks, and how to forf give up them. What he found, was that lastly the rats would give up on trying to cancel or escape the shocks. Seligman eventually applied these studies to human infants and what he discoered was a possible action he deemed, Learned patronlessness. Learned Helplessness in the Workp lace When Martin Seligman chose to study human infants and the effects of outside influences, he cherished to determine whether a lack of view as over hotshots environment could lead to a lack in motivation.What he found was that and now inter miscellany satisfactory the rats, humans would learn helplessness, and hence the motive his conjecture is cognize as the Learned Helplessness conjecture. In short, the supposition states that with no control over sensations surroundings, the response entrust be helplessness. He also found that those who learn this go remote have an interference with the rest of their development. They whitethorn have emotional problems along with trouble and depression as adults. One of the slipway that Seligman believed children larn helplessness was if there was no cor tattle among actions and there outcome.Just similar the rats who seek to escape tho where tranquilize punished with shocks, they snarl that no discipline what th ey did the outcome would be the uniform. Children who had p bents with poor parenting sk goutys or who didnt recognize their successes, learned that no matter what they did, it didnt change the outcome. Kids who jumbled in school may begin to cuckold repeatedly as they would feel that even if they did try, they would fail. People who have learned helplessness suffer from low self-esteem, and t turn covert to lodge themselves for every social occasionWhile studying learned helplessness in humans, Seligman found that it also back end be associated with una sine qua non ways of thinking or so the events that form persons explanatory style. Seligman believed there were terce major components of explanatory style associated with learned helplessness. He termed those as permanence, pervasiveness, and in-personization. Permanence pertained to the creative thinker that no matter what happens or the events direct up to them, the outcomes were in fact permanent. Pervasiveness r eferred to the sight that if more(prenominal) or lessthing negative happened in one postal service it would happen in early(a) situations as well.For instance if a person spit outs with math, they thusly assume they are stupid and struggle in every aspect. Personalization, the third and final examination component of explanatory style, refers to whether one go out attribute negative events to their own flaws or to outside circumstances or other people. Most people with Learned Helplessness go away attribute everything to their own flaws or shortcomings. Seligman believes in order to help a person overcome Learned Helplessness they moldiness strive to Learn Optimism.He believes parents and others who restrain puppyish kids asc destinationency of new subjects can lead to optimism as well as their own locatings toward port. In my own position as a business owner, I believe I have employed a new-made fair sex and possibly a few others with who had learned helplessness . There is one raw woman in particular who imbibemed to struggle with the struggles Seligman outlined in his system. I mat a daily battle in trying to dispose her she could change her life story and the outcomes of the events in her life if she became do.When I bought my wellness club flame durrajong was the young woman who was the receptionist at the front desk. What I speedily learned was that flame tree had deuce medicate addicted parents who had spent her entire life beating each other up, a father who was in and out of put to sleep who tried to use her to get drugs, and a mother who tried to get her to do drugs with her. I quickly recognized in Cassie the ability to be different than her upbringing, but I couldnt see a desire from her to get there. She had an versed voice that told her she never could be successful, as mediocrity was all she felt she deserved.I rewarded her for her work in attempt to motivate her, but it seemed no matter what promotion or reward I offered I couldnt get her motivated to make changes in her life. She would come to work on time, and do what was asked of her, but I never byword any motivation to source in a higher place and excel to the next level, even though I could see she was naturally quick and cap fit of some things. I felt for Cassie as I am not sure she ever had a chance given her parents, but I couldnt change her as I so wished I could.No amount of unequivocal praise or reward could convince Cassie that she could change her life, even though her intelligence was high and her ability was great. She just didnt believe it was possible. I tried for four years to be a role model for Cassie, and there were many days when I thought she was devising the choices to change her life, but she never followed through as she really believed change for her was impossible. Cassie had tried for her entire youth rise above both her parents, but eventually she felt no matter what she did the end was inevitable.Its a s if she predetermined her futurity by thinking it was going to be the worst future possible. In the end it seems she figured if she couldnt beat her parents, she should voice them. I tried very nasty to be a convinced(p) collision for Cassie and help change her life, but the damage that she had incurred seemed to be in addition great. No matter what I did, she couldnt kick the bucket an optimist or change the way she felt closely the outside influences in her life. No matter how hard I support or pushed her in a positive direction, she always wound up back on the bottom because she truly believed that is where she belonged.I frequently think some her and wonder if there is anything else I could have done to help her crawl out of her life and into one she was worthy up, but in the end I think that she couldnt change her way of thinking and truly believed the instance of life she had was meant to be permanent. She is living someplace now in a rundown apartment off of we lfare with her young little girl who I believe sequel turn out exactly like her. She has no job because she doesnt want to lose her food stamps and welfare, and she is back on drugs.My only hope in life is that somedead body leave be able to walk into her life and tell her daughter that she is smart, and capable of so much in life. I have learned from Cassie the value of celebrating a childs little successes, and encouraging them to be something in life. Its sad, but Cassies case of Learned Helplessness has taught me about promoting optimism, and I plan on spreadhead it to any children I come in contact with. References Learned Helplessness (2001) cyclopaedia of Childhood and Adolescence. Retrieved at http//findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_g2602/is_0003/ai_2602000349/Theory Name Major Theorist(s) Time diaphragm Created Key Theory Concepts First sniffy Theory WILL Socrates, Plato and Descartes Ancient Greeks and 17th-18th centuries Socrates and Plato literally broke down the c oncept into judgement and body. Mind over matter. According to Plato there was a way to keep body in check. This could be accomplished by the will. In other words the will was in control of all aspects of conception both bodily needs and that which would be considered spiritual. Descartes was convinced that motivation was the will. He believed that the will was in charge of whether to act or not to act.Bodily needs pleasures, pain, impulses were just marrow to an end. Will had the ultimate say. He and other philosophers at the time were convinced that they had the answer. In the end the will turned out to be something of a mystery. In dealing with just the will to explain motivation, it just proved to be a subprogram and it was not universal in its theory because some people had more bullheadedness than others. Second Grand Theory instinct(predicate) DarwinWilliam JamesMcDougall 19th-20th Century Darwins thoughts were dealing with the biological science of mankind.His theo ry is sleek over being dealt with today. Religions and scientists still trying to prove or confute his theory. His main distinction was between animals and humans. Darwin took away the base of will when he was able to show that animals were able to use their resources (motivation) to aline to like humans. So in this feel the will was no longer an news report of motivated behavior. James theory consisted of introducing input into the picture. Reflex and instincts is what makes human motivation. McDougall took the research on a generation after Darwin.Once researchers embraced this root the next thing to do was to determine the instincts. This became a daunting caper. On flower of that the instinct theory was exposed as circular. In other words, instinct theory failed because theorists were unable to determine if instincts really exist. one-third Grand Theory Drive Sigmund Freud Robert Woodworth Clark remove 20th Century Freud, all behaviors were square(a) needs. Behav ior serves bodily needs and induce acted as a guard or middleman to ensure that behaviors occurred when require for nurture of the body. Satisfaction of the bodily need quieted drive.Freuds theory was crushed due to trinity factors (1) overestimation of biological forces (2) overreliance on info taken from case studies of mentally ill individuals and (3) ideas that were not scientifically testable. Hulls drive theory did had one thing the other will and instinct did not have and that was yellion. Drive came from environmental learn which marked the beginning of scientific study of motivation. If the answer to the environmental question could be answered as to the motivation created and then, one would be able to manipulate or predict motivational states in the laboratory.Eventually though drive met its fate too. It was clear that drive decrease was neither necessary nor sufficient for larn to occur. Robert Woodworth responsible for the so called dynamic synergistic metaph or of nature vs. nurture. He saw the essential task of psychological investigating as the give and take between the organisms mentality and the requirements of its somatic and social existence. According to the scientific universe of discourse of the 21st century these thoughts are belongings the discipline back. Goal circumstance Locke fresh 1960s Mini-theories delineate attempts by researchers and theorists to instruction on more and more particularised aspects of behavior rather than to account for all(prenominal) motivating factors by relying on one single theory. As a result of this emphasis, mini-theories were developed to help explain some but not all of motivated behavior. For example, mini-theories might attempt to explain why a student is performing mischievously in elementary school or why Mini-theories became popular because they focused largely on cognitive approaches to understanding behavior.They represented a reaction to the idea that humans are inherently passive. They also reflected a growing need for psychology to supply answers to questions that had chief(prenominal) social implications or figure out problems that were socially relevant. Edwin Lockes Goal background Theory states that people who set finishs for themselves will become motivated to gain those goals, altogether as a result of making those goals. Furthermore, those who set specific goals that are more difficult are able to strike a higher level of writ of execution than those who set easier and abstract goals.The Goal Setting Theory outlines five important principles of goal setting that motivates individuals and they are clarity(measurable and unambiguous goals with a specific completion time ensure that there is no misunderstanding about what is required to reach the goal), challenge (difficult goals are often more motivating than easier goals), loyalty (when there is a strong inscription to the goal, there is a higher level of motivation), feedback (it is important to provide opportunities for clarifying and reassuring), and task complexity (allowing time for people to achieve the goal or learn what is needed to achieve the goal).One important aspect of the goals is that they must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound (SMART). In 1975 the theory was scientifically proven by researchers Latham and Baldes. Common criticisms of this theory are that it is a technique rather than a theory, it can produce undesirable competition, and it emphasizes some aspects over others (quantity over quality). Cognitive noise accomplishment Motivation Learned HelplessnessOthers? FestingerAtkinsonSeligman 1950s19641975 The Cognitive randomness Theory is based off of the idea of cognitive haphazardness.Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable odor that arises from having two conflicting thoughts at the very(prenominal) time. Dissonance is referred to as the uncomfortable impression and can often be intercommunicate a s feelings of guilt, embarrassment or immorality. Dissonance can also be greater in some cases such as with big decisions or decisions that will have a great impact, decisions that are curiously difficult to solve (such as with two similar decisions), and decisions that are concerned with oneself.This theory states that when a person has these conflicting thoughts, then they will be motivated to settlement the conflict as humans ladder to seek consistency within their thoughts. oft there are three ways that a person will work out the conflict. They may change their behavior, justify their behavior by changing the conflicting beliefs to dilute dissonance (such as by reducing the importance), or justify the behavior by adding more beliefs that will reduce dissonance (such as focusing on strengths).It is important to note that one will be more likely to change their attitude or beliefs as there would be less dissonance involved, rather than changing ones behavior. Atkinsons the ory states orientation is the result of two resolve motives the motive of achieving success and the motive to avoid failure. A persons motivation to achieve success depends on three factors the need to succeed, the persons project of the ability to success and likelihood of succeeding, and the inducement for success.The motive to avoid failure shares the same three conditions, but in relation to avoiding failure. This theory has been criticized due to the fact that a persons needs must be known before behavior can be affected. The Learned Helplessness theory speculated after testing on dogs, that humans too learn to be helpless when located in a situation in which their actions seem to not have an effect, starring(p) to depression. It has been criticized for not distinguishing between universal and personal helplessness.