What Is Learned Helplessness

question 107

Essay

What is learned helplessness?

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Definitions:

Biological Constraints

Limitations on learning that are due to the inherited characteristics of an organism.

Natural Selection

The principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Conditioned Reinforcers

Stimuli that acquire their reinforcing power through their association with primary reinforcers.

Biological Constraints

Limitations on learning that result from the genetic and biological makeup of each organism.