Seligman, M., & Maier, S., (1967). Failure to Escape Traumatic Shock.
Arhe Vaninetti
Research Methods and Statistics, PSY301, Pacific University, Oregon
February 21, 2023
Martin E. Seligman began his research on dogs’ Pavlovian responses by initially establishing the concept of learned helplessness, with former research partner J. Bruce Overmier in 1967. Seligman & Meier (1967) continues this research and introduces the concept of control as the vehicle with which dogs could associate with the ability to escape. In Experiment I, Seligman & Meier initially chose 30 ‘mongrel’ dogs that weighed between 25 and 29 pounds. It is important to note that some dogs were removed as subjects because of their ability to learn to escape the shocks, because they were not large enough for the harnesses, or because they died during the experiment, which left the researchers with 24 total subjects divided into 8 groups, with 3 dogs in each group. Continue reading “Seigman & Meier (1967) Critique: “Failure to Escape Traumatic Shock””