Assignment task: Learned Hopefulness. Learned helplessness is a tendency to give up an effort to control the environment. Some psychologists have proposed the opposite idea of learned hopefulness - that continued experience with controlled events may result in greater persistence with subsequent, similar tasks.
A. Reflect on whether you are more optimistic or pessimistic. How much of your attitude is due to the amount of control you have in your environment?
B. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being either a pessimist or optimist?
C. Do you believe you can change your attitude? Why or why not?