A researcher places dogs in a cage with metal bars on the floor. The dogs are randomly given electric shocks and can do nothing to prevent them or stop them. Later, the same dogs are placed in a cage where they can escape the shocks by jumping over a low hurdle. When the shocks are given, the dogs do not even try to escape. They just sit and cower. This is an example of ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The behavior of the dogs in the second cage demonstrates learned helplessness, which occurs when an organism learns (through experience) that it is unable to control or prevent an aversive stimulus, and thus gives up trying to do so even when it could. The dogs were exposed to uncontrollable shocks in the first cage, which caused them to develop a sense of helplessness and resignation, leading them to not even attempt to escape the shocks in the second cage.

A Researcher Places Dogs in a Cage with Metal Bars