来源于英文版维基百科 Learned Helplessness
Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control. It was initially thought to be caused by the subject's acceptance of their powerlessness, by way of their discontinuing attempts to escape or avoid the aversive stimulus, even when such alternatives are unambiguously presented. Upon exhibiting such behavior, the subject was said to have acquired learned helplessness.
In humans, learned helplessness is related to the concept of self-efficacy; the individual's belief in their innate ability to achieve goals. Learned helplessness theory is the view that clinical depression and related mental illnesses may result from a real or perceived absence of control over the outcome of a situation.
Foundation of research and theory
Early experiments
Inescapable shock training in the shuttle box
American psychologist Martin Seligman initiated research on learned helplessness in 1967 at the University of Pennsylvania as an extension of his interest in depression. This research was later expanded through experiments by Seligman and others. One of the first was an experiment by Seligman & Overmier: In Part 1 of this study, three groups of dogs were placed in harnesses. Group 1 dogs were simply put in a harness for a period of time and were later released. Groups 2 and 3 consisted of "yoked pairs". Dogs in Group 2 were given electric shocks at random times, which the dog could end by pressing a lever. Each dog in Group 3 was paired with a Group 2 dog; whenever a Group 2 dog got a shock, its paired dog in Group 3 got a shock of the same intensity and duration, but its lever did not stop the shock. To a dog in Group 3, it seemed that the shock ended at random because it was their paired dog in Group 2 that was causing it to stop. Thus, for Group 3 dogs, the shock was "inescapable".
In Part 2 of the experiment, the same three groups of dogs were tested in a shuttle-box apparatus (a chamber containing two rectangular compartments divided by a barrier a few inches high). All of the dogs could escape shocks on one side of the box by jumping over a low partition to the other side. The dogs in Groups 1 and 2 quickly learned this task and escaped the shock. Most of the Group 3 dogs – which had previously learned that nothing they did had any effect on shocks – simply lay down passively and whined when they were shocked.
In a second experiment later that year with new groups of dogs, Maier and Seligman ruled out the possibility that, instead of learned helplessness, the Group 3 dogs failed to avert in the second part of the test because they had learned some behavior that interfered with "escape". To prevent such interfering behavior, Group 3 dogs were immobilized with a paralyzing drug (curare) and underwent a procedure similar to that in Part 1 of the Seligman and Overmier experiment. When tested as before in Part 2, these Group 3 dogs exhibited helplessness as before. This result serves as an indicator for the ruling out of the interference hypothesis.
From these experiments, it was thought that there was to be only one cure for helplessness. In Seligman's hypothesis, the dogs do not try to escape because they expect that nothing they do will stop the shock. To change this expectation, experimenters physically picked up the dogs and moved their legs, replicating the actions the dogs would need to take in order to escape from the electrified grid. This had to be done at least twice before the dogs would start willfully jumping over the barrier on their own. In contrast, threats, rewards, and observed demonstrations had no effect on the "helpless" Group 3 dogs.[full citation needed]
Later experiments
Later experiments have served to confirm the depressive effect of feeling a lack of control over an aversive stimulus. For example, in one experiment, humans performed mental tasks in the presence of distracting noise. Those who could use a switch to turn off the noise rarely bothered to do so, yet they performed better than those who could not turn off the noise. Simply being aware of this option was enough to substantially counteract the noise effect. In 2011, an animal study found that animals with control over stressful stimuli exhibited changes in the excitability of certain neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Animals that lacked control failed to exhibit this neural effect and showed signs consistent with learned helplessness and social anxiety.
Expanded theories
Research has found that a human's reaction to feeling a lack of control differs both between individuals and between situations, i.e. learned helplessness sometimes remains specific to one situation but at other times generalizes across situations. Such variations are not explained by the original theory of learned helplessness, and an influential view is that such variations depend on an individual's attributional or explanatory style.According to this view, how someone interprets or explains adverse events affects their likelihood of acquiring learned helplessness and subsequent depression.For example, people with pessimistic explanatory style tend to see negative events as permanent ("it will never change"), personal ("it's my fault"), and pervasive ("I can't do anything correctly"), and are likely to suffer from learned helplessness and depression.
In 1978, Lyn Yvonne Abramson, Seligman, Paul and John D. Teasdale reformulated Seligman's & Paul's work, using attribution theory. They proposed that people differed in how they classified negative experiences on three scales, from internal to external, stable to unstable, and from global to specific. They believed that people who were more likely to attribute negative events to internal, stable, and global causes were more likely to become depressed than those who attributed things to causes at the other ends of the scales.
Bernard Weiner proposed a detailed account of the attributional approach to learned helplessness in 1986. His attribution theory includes the dimensions of globality/specificity, stability/instability, and internality/externality:
- A global attribution occurs when the individual believes that the cause of negative events is consistent across different contexts.
- A specific attribution occurs when the individual believes that the cause of a negative event is unique to a particular situation.
- A stable attribution occurs when the individual believes the cause to be consistent across time.
- An unstable attribution occurs when the individual thinks that the cause is specific to one point in time.
- An external attribution assigns causality to situational or external factors,
- while an internal attribution assigns causality to factors within the person.
Research has shown that those with an internal, stable, and global attributional style for negative events can be more at risk for a depressive reaction to failure experiences.
Neurobiological perspective
Research has shown that increased 5-HT (serotonin) activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus plays a critical role in learned helplessness. Other key brain regions that are involved with the expression of helpless behavior include the basolateral amygdala, central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.Activity in medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus, septum and hypothalamus has also been observed during states of helplessness.
In the article, "Exercise, Learned Helplessness, and the Stress-Resistant Brain", Benjamin N. Greenwood and Monika Fleshner discuss how exercise might prevent stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression. They show evidence that running wheel exercise prevents learned helplessness behaviors in rats. They suggest that the amount of exercise may not be as important as simply exercising at all. The article also discusses the neurocircuitry of learned helplessness, the role of serotonin (or 5-HT), and the exercise-associated neural adaptations that may contribute to the stress-resistant brain. However, the authors finally conclude that "The underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this effect, however, remain unknown. Identifying the mechanisms by which exercise prevents learned helplessness could shed light on the complex neurobiology of depression and anxiety and potentially lead to novel strategies for the prevention of stress-related mood disorders".
In developmental psychology the order of various stages of neurobiological development is important. From this perspective there are two different kinds of "helplessness" that appear at different stages of development. In early development, the infant is naturally helpless and must learn "helpfulness" toward mature neurophysiology. The "helplessness" that appears after maturation is what is properly termed "learned helplessness", although some researchers conflate this infantile form of "helplessness" with the pathological, adult, form.
Health implications
People who perceive events as uncontrollable show a variety of symptoms that threaten their mental and physical well-being. They experience stress, they often show disruption of emotions demonstrating passivity or aggressivity, and they can also have difficulty performing cognitive tasks such as problem-solving. They are less likely to change unhealthy patterns of behavior, causing them, for example, to neglect diet, exercise, and medical treatment.
Depression
Abnormal and cognitive psychologists have found a strong correlation between depression-like symptoms and learned helplessness in laboratory animals. Steven Maier, a professor from the University of Colorado, states that a model of depression could be caused by "impaired medial prefrontal cortical inhibitory control over stress-responsive limbic and brainstem structures." Comorbidity between psychological disorders and learned helplessness may be due to stressful events. Maier also mentions depression may not be the only mental illness that this involves, which could link to other mental illnesses. Similarly, the National Institute of Health, in 2021, looked at a wide range of depressive models. It highlights the learned helplessness model. The model allows one to predict depressive symptoms because of its high rates of overlap with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, which is the leading research in the article, "Overlapping neurobiology of learned helplessness and conditioned defeat: Implications for PTSD and mood disorders."
(See Neurobiological perspective section above for further information on this article)
Young adults and middle-aged parents with a pessimistic explanatory style often suffer from depression. They tend to be poor at problem-solving and cognitive restructuring and demonstrate poor job satisfaction and interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Those with a pessimistic style can have weakened immune systems. It includes increased vulnerability to minor ailments (e.g., cold, fever) and major illnesses (e.g., heart attack, cancers). It can also cause poorer recovery from health problems.
Social impact
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Learned helplessness can be a factor in a wide range of social situations.
- In emotionally abusive relationships, the victim often develops learned helplessness. This occurs when the victim confronts or tries to leave the abuser only to have the abuser dismiss or trivialize the victim's feelings, pretend to care but not change, or impede the victim from leaving. As the situation continues and the abuse gets worse, the victim will begin to give up and show signs of this learned helplessness. This often results in a traumatic bonding with one's victimizer, as in Stockholm syndrome or Battered woman syndrome.
- Complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
- According to Gregory Bateson's theory of schizophrenia, the disorder is a pattern of learned helplessness in people habitually caught in double binds in childhood. In such cases, the double bind is presented continually and habitually within the family context from infancy on. By the time the child is old enough to have identified the double bind situation, it has already been internalized, and the child is unable to confront it. The solution then is to create an escape from the conflicting logical demands of the double bind, in the world of the delusional system (see in Towards a Theory of Schizophrenia – Illustrations from Clinical Data).
- The motivational effect of learned helplessness is often seen in the classroom. Students who repeatedly fail may conclude that they are incapable of improving their performance, and this attribution keeps them from trying to succeed, which results in increased helplessness, continued failure, loss of self-esteem and other social consequences. This becomes a pattern that will spiral downward if it continues to go untreated.
- Child abuse by neglect can be a manifestation of learned helplessness. For example, when parents believe they are incapable of stopping an infant's crying, they may simply give up trying to do anything for the child. This learned helplessness will negatively impact both the parent and child.
- Those who are extremely shy or anxious in social situations may become passive due to feelings of helplessness[citation needed]. Gotlib and Beatty (1985) found that people who cite helplessness in social settings may be viewed poorly by others, which tends to reinforce passivity.
- Aging individuals may respond with helplessness to the deaths of friends and family members, the loss of jobs and income, and the development of age-related health problems. This may cause them to neglect their medical care, financial affairs, and other important needs.
- According to Cox et al., Abramson, Devine, and Hollon (2012), learned helplessness is a key factor in depression that is caused by inescapable prejudice (i.e., "deprejudice"). Thus: "Helplessness born in the face of inescapable prejudice matches the helplessness born in the face of inescapable shocks."
- According to Ruby K. Payne's book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, treatment of the poor can lead to a cycle of poverty, a culture of poverty, and generational poverty. This type of learned helplessness is passed from parents to children. People who embrace this mentality feel there is no way to escape poverty and so one must live in the moment and not plan for the future, trapping families in poverty.
- Social problems resulting from learned helplessness may seem unavoidable to those entrenched. However, there are various ways to reduce or prevent it. When induced in experimental settings, learned helplessness has been shown to resolve itself with the passage of time. People can be immunized against the perception that events are uncontrollable by increasing their awareness of previous experiences, when they were able to affect the desired outcome. Cognitive therapy can be used to show people that their actions do make a difference and bolster their self-esteem. Seeking out these types of treatment options can be extremely helpful for people stuck in a rut when it comes to learned helplessness. While it may initially feel hard to escape, with the proper time and help, it can get better.
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习得性无助是指受试者在反复经受其无法控制的厌恶刺激后表现出的行为。它最初被认为是由于受试者接受了自己的无能为力，他们不再试图逃避或避开厌恶性刺激，即使这种选择已经明确出现。一旦表现出这种行为，受试者就被认为获得了习得性无助感。
在人类中，习得性无助与自我效能概念有关，即个体相信自己有能力实现目标。习得性无助感理论认为，临床抑郁症和相关精神疾病可能是由于对某种情况的结果缺乏真实的或感知的控制所致。
研究和理论基础
早期实验
穿梭箱中的无意识冲击训练
美国心理学家马丁-塞利格曼（Martin Seligman）于1967年在宾夕法尼亚大学开始了习得性无助的研究，这是他对抑郁症兴趣的延伸。这项研究后来通过塞利格曼和其他人的实验得到了扩展。最早的实验之一是塞利格曼和奥弗米尔的实验：在这项研究的第一部分，三组狗被套上了安全带。第一组的狗被简单地套上安全带一段时间，随后被释放。第2组和第3组由 "轭对 "组成。第2组的狗会在随机时间受到电击，狗可以通过按下控制杆来结束电击。第3组的每只狗都与第2组的狗配对；每当第2组的狗受到电击时，与其配对的第3组的狗也会受到同样强度和持续时间的电击，但其控制杆不会停止电击。对于第3组的狗来说，电击似乎是随机结束的，因为是与它们配对的第2组的狗使电击停止。因此，对于第3组的狗来说，电击是 "不可避免的"。
在实验的第二部分，同样的三组狗在梭箱装置（一个包含两个长方形隔间的密室，隔间被几英寸高的障碍物隔开）中接受测试。所有的狗都可以通过跳过低矮的隔板到另一侧来躲避盒子一侧的冲击。第1组和第2组的狗很快就学会了这项任务并逃脱了电击。第3组的大多数狗之前已经知道它们所做的任何事情都不会对电击产生任何影响，因此在受到电击时只是被动地躺下并发出呜呜声。
在同年晚些时候用新的狗组进行的第二次实验中，迈尔和塞利格曼排除了一种可能性，即第3组的狗之所以在第二部分测试中未能躲避电击，是因为它们学会了一些干扰 "逃脱 "的行为，而不是习得性无助。为了防止这种干扰行为，第3组的狗被用麻痹药物（curare）固定，并接受了与Seligman和Overmier实验第一部分类似的程序。在第2部分的测试中，第3组的狗与之前一样表现出无助感。这一结果是排除干扰假说的一个指标。
从这些实验中，人们认为只有一种方法可以治愈无助感。在塞利格曼的假说中，狗不试图逃跑是因为它们预期它们所做的任何事情都不能阻止电击。为了改变这种预期，实验人员用身体抱起狗并移动它们的腿，复制狗从电网中逃脱所需要的动作。这样做至少两次后，狗才会开始有意识地自行跳过障碍物。相比之下，威胁、奖励和观察示范对 "无助 "的第3组狗没有任何影响。
后期实验
后来的实验证实了对厌恶刺激缺乏控制的抑郁效应。例如，在一项实验中，人类在噪声干扰下完成心理任务。那些可以使用开关来关闭噪音的人很少会这样做，但他们的表现却比那些不能关闭噪音的人要好。仅仅意识到这一选项就足以大大抵消噪音效应。2011年，一项动物研究发现，能够控制压力刺激的动物表现出前额叶皮层某些神经元兴奋性的变化。而缺乏控制的动物则无法表现出这种神经效应，并表现出与习得性无助和社交焦虑一致的症状。
扩展理论
研究发现，人对缺乏控制感的反应因人而异，也因情境而异，也就是说，习得性无助感有时只针对一种情境，但有时会在不同情境中普遍化。这种变化是习得性无助感的原始理论所无法解释的，一种有影响力的观点认为，这种变化取决于个体的归因或解释风格。根据这种观点，一个人如何解释或解释不利事件会影响其获得习得性无助感和随后抑郁的可能性。 例如，具有悲观解释风格的人倾向于将负面事件视为永久性的（"它永远不会改变"）、个人性的（"这是我的错"）和普遍性的（"我不能正确地做任何事情"），他们很可能患上习得性无助和抑郁症。
1978年，Lyn Yvonne Abramson、Seligman、Paul和John D. Teasdale利用归因理论重新阐述了Seligman和Paul的工作。他们提出，人们对负面经历的分类有三种尺度，从内部到外部，从稳定到不稳定，从整体到具体。他们认为，那些更倾向于将负面事件归因于内部原因、稳定原因和整体原因的人，比那些将事情归因于量表另一端原因的人更容易抑郁。
伯纳德-韦纳（Bernard Weiner）在1986年对习得性无助的归因方法进行了详细的阐述。他的归因理论包括全面性/特殊性、稳定性/不稳定性和内部性/外部性等维度：
- 当个体认为负面事件的原因在不同的情境下是一致的时候，就会发生全面归因。
- 当个体认为负面事件的起因在特定情况下是唯一的时，即为特定归因。
- 稳定归因是指个体认为负面事件的原因在不同时期是一致的。
- 不稳定的归因是指个体认为原因只发生在某一特定时间点。
- 外部归因将因果关系归于情境或外部因素、
- 而内部归因则将因果关系归于个人内部因素。
研究表明，那些对负面事件具有内部、稳定和全面归因风格的人更有可能对失败经历产生抑郁反应。
神经生物学视角
研究表明，背侧剑突核5-HT（5-羟色胺）活性的增加在习得性无助中起着关键作用。其他与无助行为表现有关的关键脑区包括杏仁核基底外侧、杏仁核中央核和纹状体末端床核。在无助状态下，内侧前额叶皮层、海马背侧、隔核和下丘脑的活动也被观察到。
Benjamin N. Greenwood和Monika Fleshner在《运动、习得性无助和抗压大脑》一文中讨论了运动如何预防焦虑和抑郁等与压力有关的疾病。他们展示了跑步轮运动可预防大鼠习得性无助行为的证据。他们认为，运动量可能并不像单纯的运动那么重要。文章还讨论了习得性无助的神经回路、5-羟色胺（或5-HT）的作用，以及可能有助于抗压大脑的运动相关神经适应。然而，作者最后总结道："然而，这种效应的潜在神经生物学机制仍然未知。确定运动预防习得性无助的机制可以揭示抑郁和焦虑的复杂神经生物学，并有可能导致预防压力相关情绪障碍的新策略"。
在发展心理学中，神经生物学发展各个阶段的顺序非常重要。从这个角度来看，在不同的发育阶段会出现两种不同的 "无助感"。在发育早期，婴儿天生无助，必须学会 "帮助 "成熟的神经生理学。成熟后出现的 "无助感 "被正确地称为 "习得性无助感"，尽管一些研究人员将这种婴儿期形式的 "无助感 "与病理性的、成人期形式的 "无助感 "混为一谈。
对健康的影响
认为事件无法控制的人表现出各种威胁其身心健康的症状。他们会感到压力，经常会表现出被动或攻击性的情绪紊乱，在完成认知任务（如解决问题）时也会遇到困难。他们不太可能改变不健康的行为模式，例如，导致他们忽视饮食、锻炼和医疗。
抑郁症
异常心理学家和认知心理学家发现，抑郁症状与实验室动物的习得性无助感之间存在密切联系。科罗拉多大学教授史蒂文-迈尔（Steven Maier）指出，抑郁症模型可能是由 "内侧前额叶皮质对压力反应边缘和脑干结构的抑制控制受损 "引起的。心理障碍和习得性无助之间的共病可能是由应激事件引起的。Maier还提到，抑郁症可能不是唯一的精神疾病，它可能与其他精神疾病有关。同样，美国国立卫生研究院在2021年研究了多种抑郁模型。它强调了习得性无助模型。该模型可以预测抑郁症状，因为它与创伤后应激障碍和重度抑郁症的重叠率很高，这也是 "习得性无助和条件性失败的重叠神经生物学：对创伤后应激障碍和情绪障碍的影响 "一文的主要研究内容。
（关于这篇文章的更多信息，请参见上文的神经生物学视角部分。）
具有悲观解释风格的年轻人和中年父母通常患有抑郁症。他们往往不善于解决问题和进行认知重组，工作满意度和工作场所的人际关系也很差。具有悲观风格的人可能会削弱免疫系统。这包括更容易患上小病（如感冒、发烧）和大病（如心脏病、癌症）。它还会导致从健康问题中恢复较差。
社会影响
- 在情感虐待关系中，受害者往往会产生习得性无助感。当受害者与施虐者对抗或试图离开施虐者时，施虐者会否定或轻视受害者的感受，假装关心但不改变，或阻碍受害者离开。随着情况的持续和虐待的恶化，受害者会开始放弃，并表现出这种习得性无助的迹象。这通常会导致与加害者的创伤性结合，如斯德哥尔摩综合症或被殴打妇女综合症。
- 复杂的创伤后应激障碍。
- 根据格雷戈里-贝特森（Gregory Bateson）的精神分裂症理论，精神分裂症是一种习得性无助模式，患者在童年时期习惯性地陷入双重束缚。在这种情况下，双重束缚从婴儿期开始就在家庭环境中不断地、习惯性地出现。当孩子长大到足以识别双重束缚的情况时，它已经被内化，孩子无法面对它。解决的办法就是在妄想系统的世界里创造一种逃避双重束缚的相互冲突的逻辑要求的途径（见《迈向精神分裂症的理论--临床数据的说明》）。
- 习得性无助感的动机效应经常出现在课堂上。屡次失败的学生可能会得出结论，他们没有能力提高自己的成绩，这种归因使他们不敢尝试成功，从而导致无助感增加、持续失败、自尊丧失和其他社会后果。如果继续得不到治疗，这种模式就会螺旋式下降。
- 因忽视而虐待儿童可能是习得性无助的一种表现。例如，当父母认为自己没有能力制止婴儿的哭闹时，他们可能会干脆放弃为孩子做任何事情。这种习得性无助感对父母和孩子都会产生负面影响。
- 那些在社交场合极度害羞或焦虑的人可能会因为无助感而变得被动。Gotlib和Beatty (1985)发现，在社交场合表现出无助感的人可能会被他人看不起，这往往会强化被动性。
- 老年人可能会对朋友和家庭成员的死亡、失去工作和收入以及出现与年龄相关的健康问题感到无助。这可能导致他们忽视自己的医疗保健、财务事务和其他重要需求。
- 根据Cox等人，Abramson，Devine和Hollon（2012）的研究，习得性无助是抑郁症的一个关键因素，而抑郁症是由不可避免的偏见（即 "去偏见化"）引起的。因此： "面对无法逃避的偏见所产生的无助感与面对无法逃避的冲击所产生的无助感相匹配。
- 根据Ruby K. Payne的著作《理解贫困的框架》（A Framework for Understanding Poverty），对待穷人会导致贫困循环、贫困文化和世代贫困。这种 "习得性无助 "会从父母传给子女。抱有这种心态的人认为没有办法摆脱贫困，因此必须活在当下，不为未来做计划，从而使家庭陷入贫困。
- 对于那些根深蒂固的人来说，习得性无助所导致的社会问题似乎是不可避免的。然而，有多种方法可以减少或预防这种现象。在实验环境中，习得性无助感会随着时间的推移而消失。人们可以通过增加对以往经历的认识来抵御 "事件不可控制 "的感知，因为在以往的经历中，他们能够影响所期望的结果。认知疗法可用于向人们展示他们的行为确实会产生影响，并增强他们的自尊心。寻求这些类型的治疗方案对于陷入习得性无助的人来说是非常有帮助的。虽然最初可能感觉难以摆脱，但只要有适当的时间和帮助，情况就会好转。