Learned helpless students thinks that school failure as something that they will never surmount, and all academic events, be it positive or negative, are something beyond their control. This expectation of failure and perceived lack of control is fundamental in the progress of a learned helpless style. The manner in which students perceive and interpret their experiences in the classroom helps us understand the reason why some children develop an optimistic explanatory style, and believe that they are capable of achieving in school and others develop a pessimistic explanatory style, believing that they are not capable of succeeding in school (Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox, and Gilham, 1995).

To explain further, children with an optimistic explanatory style believe that school failure depends on momentary and particular circumstances; they usually say, “I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” On the other hand, children with a pessimistic explanatory style regards negative events as something stable (the cause of the negative event will always be present), global (the cause of the negative event affects all areas of their lives), and internal (they conclude that they are responsible for the outcome or consequence of the negative event). A typical pessimistic explanatory style says, “I always fail no matter what I do.” On the contrary, when the outcome of the event is positive, a pessimistic child attributes the outcome to unstable (the cause of the event is transitory), specific (the cause of the event is situation specific), and external (other people or circumstances are responsible for the outcome) causes.

The pessimistic explanatory style needs constant boosting of morale. It is not easy and the progress does not happen overnight. It is therefore vital for educators and significant others support in helping transform the way the child thinks and performs.

 

By: Grace M. Ruiz | Teacher III | Balut Elementary School | Orion, Bataan