From 'Beyond Childhood Teaching' they tell us that 'learned helplessness' is a phenomenon that is based on the absence of expectations, and the belief of not being able to achieve the goals.
The concept was developed by Seligman, who conducted a series of experiments with animals to which he underwent frequent electric shocks from which they could not escape. The animals got to learn that it was not possible to flee, and they stopped resisting. In subsequent experiments with university students, it was seen as learned helplessness 'disrupts normal development and learning, and leads to emotional problems, especially depression.'
I have learned by reading Mediation and Violence, that this helplessness learned in children, can lead to anxiety and depression, if it is associated with harassment behaviors (bullying), and can be harmful in the first years of life. This is because if there is no control over the environment, the foundations of future emotional development do not feel well.
On occasion, we have commented that the child victim of bullying should ask an adult for help, and although the theory is so, it does not always occur in practice, precisely because of this helplessness. And is that the harassed child, just thinking that you can't do anything to avoid or defend yourself from the situation.
Exposure to uncontrollable events produces defenselessness, due to the development of an expectation according to which these events are independent of behavior. Once animals and people acquire the belief that they cannot influence adverse events, helplessness ensues.
Once we have seen how the learned helplessness can be translated in children and adolescents of school age, I would like to comment that there are opinions that place the causes of it in overprotection by parents. Or also in certain pedagogies (memorials, which rely heavily on suspensions as a method of pressure, etc.).
It is more than evident that the mission of teachers, and more today, should be to motivate students towards creative learning and the discovery of their interests, they also have a very important role in preventing harassment problems.
But if you want to know my opinion, I think few children are prepared (whatever the parents' educational style), to withstand bullying; unless they have been educated to attack and subdue others.
It is a very interesting topic, in which we will delve deeper, since the helplessness learned (whether or not related to bullying), It can negatively influence students' academic results, even if the other factors are favorable.
And we will also wonder if the 'helplessness (or despair) learned' can be undone.
