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Martin E. P. Seligman: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Martin E. P. Seligman, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Dogs that couldn't escape a shock stopped trying to escape one they could

  In 1967, Martin Seligman and Steven Maier found that dogs first exposed to inescapable shocks later failed to escape shocks they could easily have avoided — they simply lay down an…

  — Martin E. P. Seligman and Steven F. Maier, Failure to Escape Traumatic Shock

• Dogs that couldn't escape a shock later stopped trying, even when they easily could

  Martin Seligman and Steven Maier gave dogs mild shocks they had no way to stop, then later put them in a box where jumping over a low barrier would end the shock. The dogs that had…

  — Martin E. P. Seligman and Steven F. Maier, Failure to Escape Traumatic Shock

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