{{Aversive means something that causes harm or pain and that someone would want to avoid. A long time ago psychologists conducted a terrible experiment. They put dogs in electrical cages and turned on the electricity. The dogs could not escape the electrical charges even though each dog tried everything it could to do so. Finally, when each dog realized there was nothing to be done, it simply lay down and took the electrical charges helplessly. This led to the psychological term: learned helplessness.
Scientists would, thankfully, never be able to do an experiment like this today. Yet, the concept of learned helplessness is important to realize. When people feel that there is nothing they can do to change a situation, they often give up. Why do so few people vote in elections? Learned helplessness. They feel that even if they vote, their vote will not change things. This is also one reason why activities in school should allow for student participation. If people do not participate in actions concerning their own welfare, they often develop a sense of learned helplessness.}}
Learned helplessness occurs when an animal is repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that it cannot escape.
_____ (Q) This inaction can lead people to overlook opportunities for relief or change.
_____ (R) When people feel that they have no control over their situation, they may also begin to behave in a helpless manner.
_____ (S) Even when opportunities to escape are presented, this learned helplessness will prevent any action.
_____ (T) While the concept is strongly tied to animal psychology and behavior, it can also apply to many situations involving human beings.
_____ (U) Eventually, the animal will stop trying to avoid the stimulus and behave as if it is utterly helpless to change the situation.
http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/f/earned-helplessness.htm
Please take a look at this simple experiment which shows how easy it is for people to give up, even though they can be successful:
{{Have you ever heard of Pele? He is considered to have been one of the greatest soccer players ever. Brasil won 3 World Cup championships with him on the Brasilian national team. During that era, there was also a great goal keeper named Gordon Banks, who is considered to have been one of the greatest goal keepers ever. They played against each other in the 1970 World Cup.}}
In the 1970 World Cup, defending champions England were drawn in the same group with Brazil, winner of the two previous cups before England, and with Pele leading the way, looking for a third title in four tournaments.
_____ (Q) So stunning were the England goalkeeper’s reflexes on the play that the Brazilian players asked the media afterwards whether he was a martial artist.
_____ (R) After 18 minutes of absorbing play came one of football’s finest moments as Gordon Banks sprang into action to make a low save from Pele’s bullet header.
_____ (S) Pele was left dumbfounded and later said, “At that moment, I hated Banks more than any man in football, but when I cooled down, I could only applaud him in my heart."
_____ (T) Banks later told The Observer that he heard Pele shout ‘goal’ as he headed it, which was followed by a massive, almost deafening, roar.
_____ (U) Banks said, "Even though I’d got a hand to it, I thought he must have scored, but then I realized the crowd was cheering for me.”
http://www.firstpost.com/sports/1970-world-cup-pele-gordon-banks-and-magic-vs-method-617149.html
The roots of the Dust Bowl can be traced back even earlier than the 1930s -- when two-thirds of the U.S. experienced drought, winds and clouds of dust -- to the 1920s, when post-World War I conditions led Midwestern farmers to experiment with new forms of mechanized farming.
_____ (Q) Rampant overproduction of wheat crops, coupled with over plowing of the fields, led to unforeseen consequences when massive droughts began to set in during the early 1930s.
_____ (R) This was the beginning of the Dust Bowl, which actually comprised four separate drought periods that happened in quick succession.
_____ (S) As the winds began to blow against the parched landscape, uncovered patches of farmland simply blew away entirely.
_____ (T) The farmers were trying to increase their profits by plowing and developing more land than ever before.
_____ (U) During the five years before the Dust Bowl began, more than 5 million acres (2 million hectares) of new farmland had been plowed, although not all of it had been used.
http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-caused-the-dust-bowl
Answers are below:
Answers:
Learned helplessness -----------> 5,4,2,3,1 -----> Q=5, R=4, S=2, T=3, U=1
Pele and Banks -------> 2,1,5,3,4
Dust Bowl -----> 3,5,4,1,2
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