Free will or free choice?

Fifty years ago, the American psychologist Martin Seligman reversed the whole notion of our free will.Seligman conducted an experiment on dogs using Pavlov's conditioned reflex scheme. The goal was to form a fear reflex to the sound of a signal. While in the Russian scientist's case the animals received meat at the call, in the case of his American colleague - an electric shock. To prevent the dogs from escaping early, they were fixed in a special harness.Seligman was sure that when the animals were moved to an enclosure with a low partition, they would run away as soon as they heard the signal. After all, a living creature will do anything to avoid pain, won't it? But in the new cage, the dogs sat on the floor and whimpered. Not a single dog jumped the easiest obstacle-not even an attempt. When a dog not participating in the experiment was placed in the same conditions, it easily escaped.Seligman concluded: when it is impossible to control or influence unpleasant events, a strong sense of helplessness develops. In 1976, the scientist received an award from the American Psychological Association for the discovery of learned helplessness.What about people?Seligman's theory has been tested many times by scientists from different countries. It has been proven that if a person systematically:- Experiences defeat despite their best efforts;- experiences difficult situations in which their actions have no effect on anything;- finds himself in the midst of chaos, where the rules are constantly changing and any move can lead to punishment.his will and desire to do anything at all is atrophied. Apathy comes, followed by depression. The person gives up. The learned helplessness sounds like Marja the Artificer in the old movie, "It doesn't matter what you will or won't do.Life confirms the theory of learned helplessness. You don't have to be on a leash and get electrocuted. The experience of learned helplessness is different for everyone:- failed attempts to get a job: rejection after rejection without explanation,- the husband who meets in the evening with expensive gifts or with aggression for no apparent reason, according to his mood. (Nearby is almost the same story about the wife),- a self-righteous boss who hands out fines every month according to some new and illogical criteria.From the outside, there seems to be a way out. Rewrite your resume! File for divorce! Complain to your boss! Do this and that! But like Seligman's dog, a man who is driven to helplessness can't even jump over a low fence. He doesn't believe in a way out. He lies on the floor and whines.Sometimes not even an abusive partner or a self-righteous boss is needed. Gelya Demina, a student on an internship in Korea, tells how in one class the professor gave the class an assignment. They had to put together names of countries from letters on sheets of paper. When time runs out, the professor asks those who are sure of their answer to raise their hands. And so it goes on and on. By the last assignment, half of the students had gone cold.
"After we solved all the items, we started checking the answers," says Gela. - The right side had almost everything right. And the guys on the left had no correct answers at all. The last task (D E W E N S - Sweden) was solved only by two of the ten people on the left side. And then the professor says: "Here is a confirmation of the hypothesis. Two versions of the test we had appear on the screen. While the right group got a perfectly normal test, the left group had one letter mixed up in all the items. It was impossible to get the right answer in their case. The whole point was in the last question, about Sweden. It was the same for both teams. Everyone had a chance to get the right answer. But over the past five questions, the guys had completely convinced themselves that they couldn't solve the task. By the time it was their turn to get the right answer, they just gave up."How do you confront chaos? What to do when learned helplessness is already reclaiming internal territory? Is it possible not to give up and surrender to apathy?It is possible. And here again, scientists are at one with life.Remedy 1: Do something.Seriously: anything. Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim survived a concentration camp with a policy of constant chaos. The camp authorities, he recounted, imposed new prohibitions, often senseless and contradictory. The guards placed prisoners in situations where any action could lead to severe punishment. Under this regime, people quickly lost their will and broke down. Bettelheim suggested an antidote: do anything that is not forbidden. Can you go to bed instead of discussing camp rumors? Lie down. Can you brush your teeth? Brush. Not because you want to sleep or care about hygiene. It's because that's how a person regains subjective control. First, he gets a choice to do this or that. Secondly, in a situation of choice, he can make a decision and immediately execute it. What is important is his own, personal decision, made on his own. Even a small action becomes a vaccine against turning into a vegetable.The effectiveness of this method was confirmed in the 1970s by Bettelheim's American colleagues. Ellen Langer and Judith Rhoden conducted the experiment in places where a person is most restricted: prison, nursing home and homeless shelter. What did the results show? Prisoners who were allowed to arrange their cell furniture and choose their own TV programs were less likely to suffer from health problems and violent outbursts. The elderly, who could furnish their room according to their own taste, get a plant and choose a movie to watch in the evening, had better vitality and slower memory loss. And homeless people who could choose their dorm bed and lunch menu were more likely to start looking for work - and find it.Way to cope: do something because you can. Choose what to do for a free hour before bedtime, what to make for dinner, and how to spend the weekend. Rearrange the furniture in the room as you feel more comfortable. Find as many points of control as you can where you can make your own decisions and execute them.What can this accomplish? Remember the Seligman dogs? The problem wasn't that they couldn't jump the barrier. It's the same with people: the problem is sometimes not the situation, but the loss of will and belief in the significance of one's actions. The "doing because I choose to do" approach allows you to maintain or regain a subjective sense of control. This means that the will does not drive away in the direction of the graveyard, covered by a sheet, but that the person continues to move toward a way out of a difficult situation.

Remedy 2: Away from helplessness - in small steps.The ideas of "I can't do anything," "I'm worthless," "My trying won't make a difference" are made up of individual cases. Like in the children's game "connect the dots," we choose some stories and connect them with one line. The result is a belief about oneself. Over time, one pays more and more attention to experiences that confirm this belief. And he stops seeing exceptions. The good news is that beliefs about oneself can be changed in the same way. Narrative therapy, for example, does this: together with a helping practitioner, the person learns to see alternative stories that, over time, combine into a new view. Where once there was a story of helplessness, one can find another: a story of one's value and importance, of the significance of one's actions, of the possibility of influencing what is happening.It is important to look for individual cases in the past: When did I succeed? When was I able to influence something? When did I change the situation with my actions? It is also important to pay attention to the present - this is where small achievable goals can help. For example, to put things in order in the kitchen cabinet or make an important call that you have been putting off for a long time. No goal is too small - everyone is important. Did you do it? Did you get it done? That's great! We need to celebrate the victory! It's well known that where there's attention, there's energy. The more attention to accomplishments, the more fuel for a new preferred story. The greater the likelihood of not letting up.Way to cope: set small, realistic goals and be sure to celebrate their achievement. Keep a list and reread it at least twice a month. Over time, you'll notice your goals and accomplishments get bigger. Find an opportunity to reward yourself with some kind of joy for each item you accomplish.What can it do for you? Small accomplishments help build up resources for bigger actions. Build confidence in your own abilities. String new experiences like beads on a fishing line. Over time, the individual pieces will make a necklace - a new story about yourself: "I matter," "My actions matter," "I can influence my life.Means 3: A Different View.Seligman discovered a problem, and devoted the rest of his life and career to finding a solution. The scientist discovered that animals could learn to resist helplessness if they had a previous history of success. Dogs that could first turn off the current by pushing their heads on a panel in the enclosure continued to look for a way out, even when they were fixed.In collaboration with renowned psychotherapists, Seligman began to study human behavior and reactions to external circumstances. Twenty years of research led him to the conclusion: the tendency to explain what is happening in one way or another affects whether we look for an opportunity to act or give up. People with the belief: "Bad things happen through my fault" are more likely to develop depression and a state of helplessness. And those who believe, "Bad things can happen, but it's not always my fault and it will stop someday," are quicker to cope and come to terms with adverse circumstances.Seligman proposed a reframing scheme: rethinking experiences and restructuring perceptions. It is called the ABCDE Scheme:A - Adversity, adversity. Think of an unpleasant situation that causes pessimistic thoughts and a feeling of helplessness. It is important to begin by choosing situations that you rate no higher than 5 on a scale of 1 to 10: that way the reframing learning experience will be safer.B - Belief, belief. Write down your interpretation of the event: everything you think about what happened.C -Consequence, consequences. How did you behave in relation to the event? How did you feel in the process?D -Disputation, a different perspective. Write down evidence that questions and disproves your negative beliefs.E - Energizing, activating. What feelings (and perhaps actions) have triggered new arguments and more optimistic thoughts?A way to cope: try refuting pessimistic beliefs in writing.Start a journal to write down unpleasant events and work through them using the ABCDE pattern. Reread your notes every few days.What can this accomplish? Stressful situations will always arise. But with time and practice, you can learn to cope more effectively with anxiety, not give up on helplessness, and develop your own successful reaction and behavioral strategies. The energy that used to serve pessimistic beliefs will be released and can be invested in other important areas of life.

P.S. Safety TechniquesIf you are now finishing reading this article - inside you already have a desire to act. Please take care of yourself in your future actions. It is important to remember that there is no single solution that will work for everyone. A person and his life situation are more complex than the most elaborate and detailed scheme. Sometimes working independently yields the desired result. And sometimes you need to get outside support and/or seek help from a professional.It is especially worth seeking professional help if:- you are experiencing severe distress and rate a 7 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10;- you are in a depressed state, everything falls out of hand;- you have started independent work, but you feel worse in the process;- Feelings of helplessness are increasing, and negative self-perceptions are being reinforced.Please trust your feelings and take care of yourself and your condition.I believe that in difficult circumstances we also encounter our own strength. Choosing to read this article and try the ways described in it already means that there is a belief inside in change and the possibility of moving to a place where things are better. The possibility of a good future beyond today's circumstances.Seligman's dogs didn't have a choice. We have one. Let's choose our will.Elisabeth Musatova, specially for econet ru