Question

individuals who believe that an unpleasant experience is unavoidable and therefore do nothing to change the course of events are exhibiting
a. self - actualization attributes
b. the fight - or - flight response
c. attributional deficits
d. cognitive dissonance
e. learned helplessness

Explanation:

• Self-actualization refers to striving for one's full potential, unrelated to inaction from perceived unavoidable harm.
• Fight-or-flight is a stress response of confronting or escaping a threat, not passive inaction.
• Attributional deficits involve difficulties explaining events, not the described passive behavior.
• Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort of conflicting beliefs/actions, not this scenario.
• Learned helplessness is exactly the condition where individuals stop trying to change outcomes after repeated exposure to unavoidable negative experiences, matching the description.

Answer:

E. learned helplessness