For this assignment, you will choose one of the three classic psychology experiment publications posted on BB. These classic articles all share a common theme of highlighting how behavior is influenced by different situations, including Conditioning, Imitation/Modeling, and Learned Helplessness. Reading these articles will tie well with material we cover regarding learning and behavior. Note that these articles are old. Therefore the language may also be old, as well as the format and style of the article.
For the article you choose to read, you will answer the corresponding questions asked below in a succinct/concise 2 page (typed, single spaced) paper. The questions you will answer are meant to be thought provoking – they will require you to give explanations ‘outside the box’.

2. “Failure to escape traumatic shock” by Seligman and Maier” (1967). This study examined the situation of learned helplessness, which describes how people feel when they believe they can no longer escape a bad situation, even when an opportunity is presented. This study induced learned helplessness in dogs by using electrical shocks, and examined what situations increased their behavior of learned helplessness. This classic study has also been nicknamed the “yoked dog” study. As you read this article, think about learned helplessness, and the results apply to people. Also, think about how people respond to ‘negativeness’ in their life, and how this may be related to learned helplessness. As you read this paper, reflect on the components of this study, the importance of the findings, and the implications for real-world applications. In your reflection, think about and answer these questions below:
A In your paper, describe the importance of this study. What were the key findings, and what did you learn? (6pts)
3 points for explaining overall importance of the study. Here, the student should describe the big picture, what the results mean, and overall the reasons why this study was so famous.
2 points for explaining the key findings (at least two key findings, 1 point per finding).
1 point for explaining what the student learned.
B. If you were able to revise this study so that it involved humans, what methods would you implement to try to see if humans would behave the same way as the dogs? [In this situation, assume methods you would implement are ethical in that the benefits from your study would outweigh the risks (in other words, do not worry if your methods would technically be considered “ethical”. In a real situation, this most likely would be unethical if you were causing a person harm). In this revised experiment, you can also consider examining people who are already in similar situations in their life (not necessarily getting shocked everyday of course). (4pts)
2 points for thinking critically about what you could do to someone to induce learned helplessness.
2 points for explaining how your methods would create learned helplessness. In other words, you have to demonstrate clear understanding of what learned helplessness is, and demonstrate how you would know if someone had developed learned helplessness.
C. The results of this study showed a clear difference in behavior between dogs that escaped and dogs that continued to be shocked. Explain why this happened. In other words, why did some dogs leave, and why did some dogs stay? (4pts)
2 points for discussing the methods used in each of the situations.
2 points for explaining correctly the answer to this question, and specifically the factors that were involved.
D. Based on these results, what can you infer about how this may relate to human behavior? Specifically, how could this explain how people respond to negative events in their life? (5pts)
All of these points go to the ability to critically think about the results and being able to apply them to human behavior.
E. Although this study used intense methods, such as causing animals unavoidable pain, think about how these methods could relate to people in an everyday real world situation. What types of situations could someone be in that would relate to this study? Do you think that these results would only apply to a person who is constantly having very negative experiences, or could these results also apply to anyone during any time of conflict? Explain. (6pts)
3 points for giving an example of people who may be in a state of learned helplessness, and specifically for explaining what situations could induce learned helplessness.
2. 3 points for answering and explaining whether you believe learned helplessness only results when a person is constantly experiencing negative events, or if this could happen after just occasional bad situations.