Final answer:
The described emotional state is known as 'learned helplessness,' a phenomenon discovered through experiments by psychologist Martin Seligman in which subjects with no control over negative events eventually stop trying to change their circumstances.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sustained subjective emotional state in which a person sees no alternatives or personal choices available to solve problems or to achieve what is desired and cannot mobilize energy on their own behalf to establish goals is termed learned helplessness. This condition was first conceptualized through experiments by psychologist Martin Seligman in the 1960s, where dogs who could not escape electric shocks eventually stopped trying to avoid them, even when an escape was possible. The concept of learned helplessness has been linked to human depression, where individuals feel powerless and unable to effect change in their lives, leading to passivity and a lack of initiative in situations they could otherwise control.