Question

​Hazel is tired of worrying about her new landlord. When her friends tell her to become involved to protect her interests, Hazel says, "It's too late in the day. Whatever happens, happens. I'll simply do whatever the landlord says." Hazel is exhibiting__________

Answer 1

Hazel is showing 'learned helplessness,' a state of passivity resulting from a belief that she has no control over her living situation, leading her to cease efforts to protect her interests and comply with her landlord's wishes.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hazel is exhibiting a psychological behavior known as learned helplessness. This is a state where a person feels unable to control the events in their life, leading to a passive resignation to whatever happens. The concept was identified through experiments by psychologist Martin Seligman in the 1960s. In these experiments, dogs that couldn't escape electric shocks ended up not even trying to escape when it became possible to do so. Similarly, Hazel, by saying "Whatever happens, happens. I'll simply do whatever the landlord says," indicates she has given up on trying to be involved to protect her interests and has stopped worrying about her new landlord, accepting whatever may come rather than attempting to assert control over her situation.