Martin Seligman s Exploration Of Learned Helplessness,...

The world of science consistently generates new studies in various fields, yielding results that can revolutionize society and shine light on the world we know so very little about. However, it is easy to get lost in specific studies and view each one as its own, independent discovery. And while each experiment provides an important look into the complexities of this world, science is an amalgamation of many discoveries strung together in complex ways. This way, the merits of each study can interrelate in order to further understand something else. In the realm of positive psychology, it is important that a number of different scientific discoveries work together to explain an overarching topic. For example, two studies that are interrelated are Martin Seligman’s exploration of learned helplessness, and Roy Baumeister’s study on willpower depletion. Both are important in their own rights, but by comparing both Seligman and Baumeister’s experiments, scientists can discuss the overarching concept of willpower as a depletable resource. Psychologist Martin Seligman conducted an experiment that aimed to understand more about classical conditioning. In his study, he rang a bell and lightly shocked a dog. Eventually, if the dog heard the bell, it would react to the shock before it even happened. This was all good, it was a great example of classical conditioning, but the truly interesting part of the study came later. Seligman constructed a box with a small wall in the middle.