learned helplessness

learned helplessness

n.

A laboratory model of depression in which exposure to a series of unforeseen adverse situations gives rise to a sense of helplessness or an inability to cope with or devise ways to escape such situations, even when escape is possible.

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learned helplessness

[lurnd]

a behavioral state and personality trait of a person who believes that he or she is ineffectual, his or her responses are futile, and control over reinforcers in the environment has been lost. It may be seen in depression.

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learned helplessness

Geriatric medicine A state of overdependency discordant with the degree of physical and mental disability seen in nursing home Pts Psychiatry A condition in which a person attempts to establish and maintain contact with another by adopting a helpless, powerless stance