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Understanding Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness occurs when an individual has been conditioned to believe they will never succeed so they stop trying and simply ignore challenges. This develops from experiences where their actions have no impact on outcomes. The individual sees things as beyond their control and not their fault. The author witnessed this in their sister who disassociated from schoolwork and needed help to graduate. As a teacher in a low-income neighborhood, the author expects to work with students experiencing or having developed learned helplessness. By working closely with students, showing them success is in their control, and encouraging goal achievement, the author hopes to mitigate feelings of low self-efficacy. Change will take persistent hands-on experience but the author aims to make a difference.

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65 views1 page

Understanding Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness occurs when an individual has been conditioned to believe they will never succeed so they stop trying and simply ignore challenges. This develops from experiences where their actions have no impact on outcomes. The individual sees things as beyond their control and not their fault. The author witnessed this in their sister who disassociated from schoolwork and needed help to graduate. As a teacher in a low-income neighborhood, the author expects to work with students experiencing or having developed learned helplessness. By working closely with students, showing them success is in their control, and encouraging goal achievement, the author hopes to mitigate feelings of low self-efficacy. Change will take persistent hands-on experience but the author aims to make a difference.

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March 4, 2018

9:31 p.m.
Chapter 3: Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness is a result of the conditioning discussed and evaluated by


behaviorism theorists like Pavlov and Skinner. This takes place when an individual has been
conditioned to believe that they will never achieve success, so instead of fighting and working to
avoid the negative consequences, the student simply ignores the situation entirely. This
individual will have a completely external locus of control, where they believe that not only do
they not have control over any of their situation, they will not truly face any repercussions as it is
not their fault (Kibe, 2017).

I have, personally, never experienced learned helplessness, but I have witnessed it in my


older sister. I was not around in her childhood, so I am not sure what disconnect occurred, but
she would frequently completely disassociate from her schoolwork to the point that she would
not have graduated without the help of our mom. It was strange to witness because she wanted to
succeed, but she felt that her success was beyond her control.

Working in a low socioeconomic neighborhood, I am sure that I will work with students
who may be in the process of developing learned helplessness or who have already completely
developed it. I hope that by working side by side with them, showing them that they are in
control of their success and future, and encouraging them as they surpass goals, that I may
mitigate these feelings of low self-efficacy. It will take a lot of experience to know what works
best in these situations, but from experience coaching swim teams and managing pools, I know
that helping these students to succeed independently is very hands on and persistent. Change and
success will not happen overnight, but I hope that I may make a difference.

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