Learned Optimism
By Kaitlynn Poch and McKenna Carter
About our book:
This book was written by Martin Seligman, Ph.D
He really shows in this book, that even if you are the most
severe pessimist, you can unlearn it, and become optimistic.
Even if you think you are optimistic, this is still a great book!
Learned Optimism
Explanatory Style
Permanence: permanent or temporary?
Pervasiveness: universal or specific?
Personalization: internal or external?
Pessimistic ^
Optimistic
Optimism vs Positive Thinking
Optimism involves what you think to yourself
when you fail. Using non-negative thinking to
change destructive thoughts.
It is not the same as saying positive statements
to yourself.
Learned helplessness
Learned helplessness=Pessimism
Learned helplessness is when you learn that
nothing you do matters, so you basically give
up.
Experiments on dogs showed helplessness
can be learned and is not innate.
Experiments on dogs
To show learned helplessness they did this
experiment
Control
Group 1
Group 2
These dogs would not be
shocked.
These dogs would be
shocked, then once they
jumped over a barrier the
shock would stop.
These dogs got shocked,
and no matter what they
did, they kept getting
shocked. Eventually they
laid down and did not try to
get away from the shock.
They learned that jumping
over the barrier stopped the
shock
LEARNED
HELPLESSNESS
To show this worked on humans.
Group 1: A group was
put in a room with a
loud noise. This group
could turn the noise
off by pressing a
button.
Group 2: This group
was put in a room with
the same noise, but
pressing the button
did nothing. They
eventually gave up
trying. LEARNED
HELPLESSNESS
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
CAN ALSO CAUSE
DEPRESSION
HOPELESSNESS AND SO
ON
Optimism and your job..does it matter
You may think that your outlook on life does
not make a difference at your mundane
job..however Seligman discovered that it
actually makes a difference.
Experiment time..
Met Life
Seligman did an experiment on insurance
agents working at Met Life.
1. He had them take the optimism test
2. He then checked to see how many clients
each agent could sign up
3. Compared their optimism to their new
clients
Met Life cont.
He found that the agents with higher
optimism scores, did not give up or get
discouraged as easily after a hang up, or
blunt no.
The agents who were easily discouraged,
usually were more pessimistic, and did not
last long at the job.
My point exactly..
The ones who were
hired based more on
the optimism test, did
better and stayed at
the company longer.
They were not easily
discouraged.
The people hired
based on their high
ASQ scores, tended to
get discouraged, and
quit earlier than the
other group.
So Seligman changed the hiring
requirements
1. Applicants had to
take an optimism
quiz
2. Applicants also had
to take the ASQ
Seligmans thoughts were to
create a special force.
Those who scored high on
the optimism test plus did
OK or great on the ASQ. He
maintained the thought that
even if they did not pass the
ASQ, they would still be
great employees due to their
optimism
For example: When I first started at my old job, I loved it. Then I
learned helplessness, because no matter what I did, how many
patients we moved through a day, we still would get nasty grams
about how to do better. In a 12 hour day, there is only so much you
can do, while moving patients back at 10 an hour. So, I started
doing less..My thoughts, It doesnt really matter anyways. Why
waste my extra time cleaning, when we will just get an email bitching
about something. I changed..instead of loving my job, I started
becoming very pessimistic and ended up disliking my job. My
passion in life is to help people, so why did I hate my job? Similar to
the dogs, if you are never rewarded for doing something (right), you
start learning that nothing matters
ABCDE
Adversity: any situation that you encounter that could be
stressful to you
Belief: how you interpret the adversity; your thoughts
Consequences: how you feel because of the adversity and
the consequences that come from it
Disputation: what you say to yourself to dispute the
thoughts that come from the adversity
Energization: the energization that occurs as you succeed to
deal with negative events
ABCDE example
Adversity: I recently started taking night classes after work for a masters
degree. I got my first set of exams back and I didnt do nearly as well as I
wanted.
Belief: What awful grades! I no doubt did the worst in the class. Im just
stupid. Thats all. I might as well face facts. Even if I stick with it, who is going
to hire a 40 yr old woman when they can hire a 20 yr old instead? What was I
thinking when I enrolled? Its just too late for me.
Consequences: I felt totally dejected and useless. I was embarrassed I even
gave it a try, and decided I should withdraw from my courses and be satisfied
with the job I have.
ABCDE example cont.
Disputation: Im blowing things out of proportion. I hoped to get all As, but I
got a B, a B+, and a B-. Those arent awful grades. I may not have done the best
in the class, but I didnt do the worst in the class either. I checked. The guy next
to me had two Cs and a D+. The reason I didnt do as well as I hoped isnt
because of my age. The fact that I am 40 doesnt make me any less intelligent
than anyone else in the class. One reason I may not have done as well is
because I have a lot of other things going on in my life that take time away from
my studies. I have a family and a full time job. Given my situation I did a good
job.
Energization: I felt much better about myself and about my exams. Im not
going to withdraw from my courses, and I am not going to let my age stand in
the way of getting what I want. Im still concerned that my age may be a
disadvantage, but I will cross that bridge if and when I come to it.
Health and optimism
A lot of this we already know from this class..
Optimism= Less stress
Optimism= Less depression
Optimism and cancer
Now.. I know what you are thinking..no way
that thinking positively could change the rate at
which we die. Actually it does, per Seligman.
He did a study with breast cancer patients...the
ones who lived longest were the most optimistic
and felt great joy in living.
Personal Projects
Optimism/Pessimism test; depression test
ABCDE examples from own life
Goal: learn optimism!!
Relative to stress management:
Pessimism= more stress
Use ABCDE -> optimism to help manage stress
