According to Martin Seligman's theory, who would be MOST likely to develop learned helplessness?
A) someone who had experienced no uncontrollable negative events, then experienced a controllable negative event
B) someone who had experienced uncontrollable negative events and then a controllable negative event
C) someone who had experienced controllable negative events, and then another controllable negative event
D) someone who had experienced a random sequence of controllable and uncontrollable events

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Seligman's theory suggests that learned helplessness is developed after experiencing uncontrollable negative events. Therefore, someone who has experienced both uncontrollable and controllable negative events (option B) is more likely to develop learned helplessness than someone who has only experienced controllable negative events (option C) or someone who has not experienced any uncontrollable negative events (option A). Option D does not provide enough information about the pattern of events for us to determine the likelihood of developing learned helplessness.

According to Martin Seligman's Theory, Who Would Be MOST Likely