Learned helplessness can be defined as the condition in which one is in a state of disorder and is not willing to try to get out of a negative situation because of past situations that have made them feel so. Learned helplessness can affect low-income earners quite negatively as they are unwilling to rise to the challenges that they come across.
As already stated, many low-income earners are affected negatively by learned helplessness. Some have developed an attitude that no matter the education they strive to acquire or how hard they devote themselves to work, they will never be able to get out of the financial strains they are experiencing. When those people look at investing another eight hours a day, they only think that it can work for other people and not themselves (Pagliarini).
Normally, the fact that low-income people do not try to change or do not grow is because they have refused to accept their current position as adults in the society and are fixated at a primitive way of functioning. As a result, they are bound to poverty, as they are not willing to climb the ladder and make a difference in life. The behavior model suggests that these people live a miserable life, as that is what they grew up knowing. The past trauma or belief is a barrier to development (Kanel and Horn-Mallers 197-198). Indeed, the idea that learned helplessness is a great barrier to low-income people is evident as many group workers working with poor people base their goals on psychological levels rather than going directly to social, economic change (Garvin, Gutirrez and Galinsky 363).
Works Cited
Garvin, Charles D., Lorraine Margot Guti?rrez and Maeda J. Galinsky. Handbook of Social Work with Groups. New York,NY: Guilford Press, 2004.
Kanel, Kristi and Melanie Horn-Mallers. An Overview of the Human Services. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2015.
Pagliarini, Robert. "Learned Helplessness: The Secret to Being Poor." 2 June 2011. Cbsnews.com. February 2016 <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/learned-helplessness-the-secret-to-being-poor/>.
