In 1967, Martin Seligman and Steven Maier conducted experiments with dogs that produced one of the most influential — and disturbing — findings in psychology.

The Experiment

Dogs were restrained in a harness and subjected to unavoidable electric shocks. Later, they were placed in a shuttle box where they could easily escape shocks by jumping over a low barrier. Most didn't try.

Learned Helplessness

Dogs who had experienced inescapable shocks had learned that their actions had no effect on outcomes. They generalized this expectation to new situations — lying down passively and whimpering rather than attempting to escape, even when escape was trivial.

The Human Connection

• Seligman proposed learned helplessness as a model for human depression
• People who experience repeated failures or trauma can generalize powerlessness beyond the original context
• Abuse survivors, prisoners, and those in chronically uncontrollable environments show classic learned helplessness patterns

The Remedy

Restoring a sense of agency — small, achievable actions with visible outcomes — is the core mechanism of recovery. This insight shaped the development of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Learned Helplessness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness