Final answer:
In psychology, surrender often refers to the concept of learned helplessness, where an individual feels a lack of control over negative events and stops trying to affect their outcomes, which can lead to passivity and depression. This phenomenon emphasizes the significance of attributions in one's response to events and the need for ethical consideration in research applications.
Step-by-step explanation:
In psychology, the term surrender can be related to the concept of learned helplessness, as observed in experiments by psychologist Martin Seligman. Learned helplessness occurs when an individual experiences repeated negative events that they perceive as outside of their control, eventually leading them to stop trying to change their circumstances. This passivity is similar to that observed in human depression, where individuals give up attempting to alter negative situations, potentially leading to depression and a decreased initiative in situations they might have influenced.
Seligman's research, along with the work of his colleagues, led to an understanding that attributions—our mental explanations for why events happen—are critical for this process. If negative events are attributed to internal, stable, and global causes, it might increase a person's sense of helplessness.
Furthermore, the examination of this concept also emphasizes the importance of ethics in research and its applications, as the misuse in contexts such as military torture can have serious moral ramifications. The learned helplessness model was later revised to include the role of cognitive attributions in sustaining or mitigating helplessness.