Electric shock Quote by Eric Weiner
““In the late 1960s, a young Martin Seligman, now the pooh-bah of the positive-psychology movement, conducted experiments with dogs. He would place a dog in a cage and give it a (supposedly harmless) electric shock. The dog, though, could escape to another side of the cage and avoid the shock, the onset of which was signaled by a loud noise and a flashing light. Then Seligman put the dog in a no-win situation. No matter what he did, he couldn’t avoid getting shocked. Then, and this is the part that surprised Seligman, when he returned the same dog to a cage where he could easily avoid the shock (by jumping over a low fence), the dog did nothing. He just sat there and endured the shocks. He had been taught to believe that the situation was hopeless.””
About This Quote
Source Book: "The Happiness Hypothesis" by Jonathan Haidt, 2006
A dog conditioned to helplessness continues to endure pain even when escape is possible, illustrating learned helplessness.
In simple terms: Learned helplessness persists despite new opportunities.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and break cycles of helplessness.
Themes
psychology
behavior
control
resilience
Mood
frustrated
reflective
Type
cautionary
insightful
When to use this quote
- therapy
- workplace
- education
- personal growth
Key Concepts
learned helplessness
conditioning
cognitive bias
Questions to Reflect On
- What situations in your life feel inescapable?
- How can you test if you’re truly helpless?
A Different Perspective
If the environment changes, the subject may still act helplessly due to prior conditioning.
![“A woman from the audience asks: ‘Why were there so few women among the Beat writers?’ and [Gregory] Corso, suddenly utterly serious, leans forward and says: “There were women, they were there, I knew them, their families put them in institutions, they were given electric shock. In the ’50s if you…” quote by Stephen Scobie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/560/stephen-scobie-119593_electric-shock_a-woman-from-the-audience-asks-why-were_770882.jpg)
