Sometimes People React to an Uncontrollable Life Event with Apathy

question 54

Essay

Sometimes people react to an uncontrollable life event with apathy and listlessness (i.e., learned helplessness); other times people react to the same uncontrollable event with assertiveness and hostility (i.e., reactance).Identify and discuss the critical variable that predicts whether people react with helplessness or reactance.

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Definitions:

Rogers

Refers to Carl Rogers, an influential American psychologist who founded the person-centered approach to therapy and significantly contributed to humanistic psychology.

Trusting Attitude

A predisposition to believe that others are generally reliable and good, reflecting a positive expectation regarding others' motives and intentions.

Relationship

The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.

Erikson

Erik Erikson, a developmental psychologist known for his theory on the psychosocial development of humans, outlining eight stages from infancy to adulthood.