Helpless Dogs
Created | Updated Mar 25, 2002
Psychologists Rosenhan and Seligman conducted an experiment with dogs as follows. If you think this is cruel just wait till I tell you about Brady's Executive Monkeys and Lashley's Cats.
They gave some dogs electric shocks. They were harnessed so they couldn't escape the shocks. Eventually they gave up trying.
Then they put the shocked dogs and some dogs who hadn't been shocked in a situation where they COULD escape - and shocked them some more. The previously schocked dogs just sat there, while the unshocked dogs made their escape. Rosenhan and Seligman called this phenomenon 'learned helplessness.' The dogs who had given up on trying to escape didn't recognise that in their new situation they could do something about the problem.
This is a key feature of depression in humans. Identifying this phenomenon has helped countless sufferers understand and change their condition, so I guess it was worth it.
They gave some dogs electric shocks. They were harnessed so they couldn't escape the shocks. Eventually they gave up trying.
Then they put the shocked dogs and some dogs who hadn't been shocked in a situation where they COULD escape - and shocked them some more. The previously schocked dogs just sat there, while the unshocked dogs made their escape. Rosenhan and Seligman called this phenomenon 'learned helplessness.' The dogs who had given up on trying to escape didn't recognise that in their new situation they could do something about the problem.
This is a key feature of depression in humans. Identifying this phenomenon has helped countless sufferers understand and change their condition, so I guess it was worth it.
