One day, some years ago, a good friend of mine gave me a book full of tales as a present for my birthday. One of them was about a circus elephant who lived prisoner, chained to a weak wooden peg. A little boy asked himself why, being so big and strong, the elephant never tried to free itself, and after years of fruitless search someone gave him the answer: when the elephant was still a baby, they took it prisoner and chained it to that same peg, or to a very similar one. At that time it was too small and weak, and although it struggled to set itself free, it couldn't make it. So finally one day, he gave up and stopped fighting.But years passed and the elephant grew up to become a huge and powerful animal, who could have pulled the peg down with only a kick. Unfortunately, it was already so convinced that it could do anything against the peg, that it didn't even try. (The tale is "The chained elephant" by Jorge Bucay).
After reading it I was appalled, and still today I suffer when I think about all those chained elephants around the world who have learned that trying is not worth it, because they cannot free themselves. But of course, something tells me (I am very smart) that the tale was not meant for us to suffer for the elephants of the world, but to make us think about ourselves. Which weak wooden peg are we chained to?
Psychologists have been studying this behaviour for years now, and they have even given a fancy name to it: learned helplessness. They define it as the condition of someone who has learned to act passively against his circumstances, and doesn't try to overcome a harmful situation, even if there are real possibilities of doing it.
Why does this happen? What posible biological explanation is there? Is it a failure of our "not so clever" nature, or is it some mechanism that was useful at some point, like for example...that unsuitable passion we feel for everything that makes us fat? I don't know. What is for sure is that it is present everywhere: at home, school, work, society or politics. Just everywhere. We are nowhere safe, always susceptible to become perpetual victims. Therefore, there is always someone who is susceptible to become our headsman and use learned helplessness as a weapon to subject us. There are lots of examples (beginning with elephant trainers).
Since the last financial crisis in Spain, there have been plenty of people who have warned us against the political situation that is stalking us. They claim we are in such a state of learned helplessness that we just accept passively whatever they want to do with us. We are, or have been, in the perfect condition to just bow our heads and accept economic cut backs, laws and policy measures, no matter how abusive or unfair they might be. Sure, people have complained and demonstrated but, in the end, which are the results on the ballot boxes? If we are so fed up, why do we keep on voting the same parties? Can it be that we have learned helplessness?
Plenty of abused women are also victims of this effect. It is true that we can not compare this situation with the elephant and it's peg, where flying free is as simple as making a little effort and running away, because unfortunately, a lot of women have already died trying. But, isn't it true that there is also a real risk in keeping on living with the murderer? Why not to react? Because with every hit, every humiliation, the abuser grows stronger and she becomes smaller, even to the point of often thinking that she deserves this treatment.
It also happens in concentration camps, torture centres, kidnaps...But it is not necessary to go so far. If during high school everyone laughed at you because you where not able to speak, let's say, french, it doesn't matter that you pass the C2 exam. For the rest of your life, you will be horribly embarrassed to open you mouth and say a humble: "Bonjour". If at school you were plumpish, no one cares that you become Claudia Schiffer after puberty, you will always carry the complex on your shoulders.
The next video shows a really interesting experiment, where they made some teenagers develop learned helplessness just in 5 minutes. It is worth watching it. I get the shivers only by thinking about how vulnerable we are, until what extent it is easy to subject the people. I have to go, I am feeling distressed, I have to go think about who to rebel against.
By the way, just in case someone has also felt appalled by the elephant tale. Circus isn't fun for everyone! Stop supporting the torture of animals, say no to animal circuses!
After reading it I was appalled, and still today I suffer when I think about all those chained elephants around the world who have learned that trying is not worth it, because they cannot free themselves. But of course, something tells me (I am very smart) that the tale was not meant for us to suffer for the elephants of the world, but to make us think about ourselves. Which weak wooden peg are we chained to?
Psychologists have been studying this behaviour for years now, and they have even given a fancy name to it: learned helplessness. They define it as the condition of someone who has learned to act passively against his circumstances, and doesn't try to overcome a harmful situation, even if there are real possibilities of doing it.
Why does this happen? What posible biological explanation is there? Is it a failure of our "not so clever" nature, or is it some mechanism that was useful at some point, like for example...that unsuitable passion we feel for everything that makes us fat? I don't know. What is for sure is that it is present everywhere: at home, school, work, society or politics. Just everywhere. We are nowhere safe, always susceptible to become perpetual victims. Therefore, there is always someone who is susceptible to become our headsman and use learned helplessness as a weapon to subject us. There are lots of examples (beginning with elephant trainers).
Since the last financial crisis in Spain, there have been plenty of people who have warned us against the political situation that is stalking us. They claim we are in such a state of learned helplessness that we just accept passively whatever they want to do with us. We are, or have been, in the perfect condition to just bow our heads and accept economic cut backs, laws and policy measures, no matter how abusive or unfair they might be. Sure, people have complained and demonstrated but, in the end, which are the results on the ballot boxes? If we are so fed up, why do we keep on voting the same parties? Can it be that we have learned helplessness?
Plenty of abused women are also victims of this effect. It is true that we can not compare this situation with the elephant and it's peg, where flying free is as simple as making a little effort and running away, because unfortunately, a lot of women have already died trying. But, isn't it true that there is also a real risk in keeping on living with the murderer? Why not to react? Because with every hit, every humiliation, the abuser grows stronger and she becomes smaller, even to the point of often thinking that she deserves this treatment.
It also happens in concentration camps, torture centres, kidnaps...But it is not necessary to go so far. If during high school everyone laughed at you because you where not able to speak, let's say, french, it doesn't matter that you pass the C2 exam. For the rest of your life, you will be horribly embarrassed to open you mouth and say a humble: "Bonjour". If at school you were plumpish, no one cares that you become Claudia Schiffer after puberty, you will always carry the complex on your shoulders.
The next video shows a really interesting experiment, where they made some teenagers develop learned helplessness just in 5 minutes. It is worth watching it. I get the shivers only by thinking about how vulnerable we are, until what extent it is easy to subject the people. I have to go, I am feeling distressed, I have to go think about who to rebel against.
By the way, just in case someone has also felt appalled by the elephant tale. Circus isn't fun for everyone! Stop supporting the torture of animals, say no to animal circuses!
 |
| fuente |
Entradas
