Question

When an organism unsuccessfully attempts to escape an aversive stimulus (i.e. the stimulus is unescapable), that organism tends to not engage in an escape response even when it becomes possible to escape the aversive stimulus. What phenomenon is this describing?

1) Learned helplessness
2) Operant conditioning
3)lassical conditioning
4) Habituation

Answer 1

Learned Helplessness is the correct answer, which occurs when an organism learns that they cannot control an unpleasant situation and thus stops trying to change it, even when change is possible.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phenomenon you're referring to is called Learned Helplessness. This occurs when an organism, after repeated attempts to avoid an unpleasant experience without success, learns that the situation is out of their control and stops trying to change it. This concept was first demonstrated in experiments by psychologist Martin Seligman in the 1960s. Dogs that were subjected to unavoidable electric shocks later did not attempt to escape when it was made possible for them to do so. Seligman linked this behavior to human depression, suggesting that learned helplessness can lead to passivity and a lack of initiative similar to symptoms seen in depression.