The concept of learned helplessness is one of the most widely studied constructs because of its decisive influence on many psychosocial processes.

It has its origin in 1975, when Martin Seligman and his collaborators observed that the animals in their research suffered from depression in certain situations.

What is learned helplessness?

To find out the reasons for this depression they noticed in the dogs, Seligman conducted the following experiment. He placed several dogs in cages from which they could not escape, administering electrical shocks at variable and random intervals, so that they could not predict the next shock or shock pattern, as none existed.

After several trials administering shocks, and although the dogs initially made several attempts to escape, it was observed that they eventually abandoned any voluntary escape activity. When the researchers modified the procedure and taught the dogs to escape, the dogs would remain quiet, refusing to go outside or make attempts to avoid the shocks, even lying in their own droppings.

Given these results, Seligman found that the animals’ response was not entirely passive, but that lying in their own droppings was, in fact, a coping strategy (adaptation), since lying on them minimized pain and placed them in a part of the cage where the least amount of electrical shocks were perceived. He called this effect as learned helplessness .

Learned helplessness: a psychological phenomenon also present in humans

Learned helplessness produces a modification of escape responses with unpredictable consequences into more predictable coping strategies. At the same time, Seligman discovered that it is possible to unlearn learned helplessness , because when the dogs were taught by repeated trials that they could escape from the cage, the learned helplessness response eventually disappeared.

This experiment has been replicated in human beings concluding that the important aspects of the learned helplessness syndrome are focused on the cognitive aspect, i.e. thoughts. When people have lost the ability to believe that their responses will help them escape from the situation, they modify their escape responses by submissive behaviour, as a coping strategy.

The presence of learned helplessness in victims of violence

This modification of escape responses by submissive behaviour has been observed in victims of abuse with learned helplessness. Lenore Walker conducted this study on partner abuse victims, making a similar assessment of cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning.

The results showed that at the beginning of the abuse their responses or behaviours were avoidance or flight. However, the continuous exposure to violence provoked a modification of these responses they had learned that they could diminish the intensity of the mistreatment through diverse coping strategies such as pleasing the aggressor, doing what he wants, keeping him calm, etc.

Thus, the theory of learned helplessness applied to victims of abuse describes how a woman can learn to be unable to predict the effect her behavior will have on the abuser. This lack of ability to predict how effective her own behaviour will be in avoiding abuse modifies the origin or nature of the victim’s response to different situations .

If you want to go deeper into this topic, I recommend the interview that Bertrand Regader conducted with Patricia Ríos: “Interview with a psychologist who is an expert in gender violence”

Signs that someone is abused and has developed learned helplessness

When women who are victims of partner abuse suffer from learned helplessness, they will choose, in a known or familiar situation, those behaviors that have a more predictable effect and avoid behaviors that have a less predictable effect, such as escape or flight responses.

This research also made it possible to propose certain factors that make it possible to identify the defenselessness learned in victims of abuse . The factors are:

  • The presence of a pattern of violence , specifically the Cycle of Violence, with its three phases (accumulation of tension, serious episode of aggression and loving regret or absence of tension), together with the modification or increase observable in the intensity and frequency of mistreatment.
  • Sexual abuse of women .
  • Jealousy, meddling, over-possession, and isolation of women.
  • Psychological abuse : verbal degradation, denial of faculties, isolation, occasional indulgence, monopolizing perceptions, death threats, drug or alcohol-induced weakness.
  • Presence of violent behaviour of the partner towards others (children, animals or inanimate objects).
  • The abuse of alcohol or drugs by men or women.

Last but not least, this study has allowed it to be used for the psychological treatment of victims of abuse.

Unlearning learned helplessness

The process of unlearning learned helplessness is characterized by the empowerment of these women within the couple’s relationship , which will allow abused women to understand and exit the cycle of violence, guiding them in how the escalation of violence can be predicted, through the distinction of the different phases of the cycle and the understanding that the phases of love and repentance is a way to reinforce the cycle and teach them different skills to be able to escape.

However, it is important to consider that there are differences between laboratory studies and real life and it is necessary to keep in mind that in real life the abuser may become more violent when the woman is confronted and/or when she tries to separate.