The Metro: Learned helplessness in politics can be unlearned
Learned helplessness is just one explanation for a lack of civic engagement or extreme political acts. That behavior can be unlearned.
In the past few weeks, the country has experienced an onslaught of news and information that can often be hard to process.
From the capture and detainment of the president of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro—which included multiple civilian deaths—to the murder of U.S. citizens by ICE agents, it’s not hard to understand why some people simply check out or take matters into their own hands.
But how much of this is learned behavior? How can it be contributed to learned helplessness? The idea that no matter what you do as an individual or group, the outcome will NOT change.
Dr. Julia Felton, associate professor of psychology at Wayne State University. Dr. Felton joined The Metro’s Tia Graham to unpack learned helplessness in our society right now.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
