Unpredictable Stress Leads to Learned Helplessness

There is a critical difference between predictable and unpredictable stress. While predictable stressors (e.g., deadlines, exams) are manageable, unpredictable stress (e.g., sudden loss, a global pandemic) can be debilitating because it undermines our sense of control.

When individuals are repeatedly exposed to stressful situations that they cannot control or escape, they can develop a state of learned helplessness. This phenomenon, first identified in experiments by Martin Seligman and Steven Maier, has three main consequences:

1. Motivational Deficit: The individual loses the motivation to even try to escape or improve their situation, even when opportunities to do so become available. They assume their efforts will be futile.
2. Cognitive Deficit: The ability to learn new solutions and solve problems is impaired. The experience of uncontrollability makes it harder to recognize potential ways out.
3. Emotional Deficit: The experience leads to feelings of depression, anxiety, and defeat.

This state of learned helplessness, brought on by unpredictable and uncontrollable stress, creates a fertile ground for misbelief. When people feel powerless, they become desperate for explanations that can restore a sense of order and control, making them highly susceptible to conspiracy theories and other narratives that claim to reveal the "real" forces at play.

Tags: #stress #psychology #learned-helplessness #cognition #emotion #control