Martin Seligman's early work emphasized the concept of learned helplessness. Beginning in the late 1990's, he shifted the focus of his research and practice and became the leading pioneer in the Positive Psychology movement. From there he began studying the same phenomena from a different perspective - learned optimism.
Watch
Watch this brief animated book review of Seligman's 1991 book, Learned Optimism.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tN9wMbdqZU
Discuss
Post a thoughtful discussion comparing and contrasting the concepts of learned helplessness and learned optimism. How do these relate to the concepts of optimism and pessimism? How do they influence personality?
Provide illustrative modern, real-world examples of both learned helplessness and learned optimism. These can be personal examples from your own life experience or examples in a larger context relating to groups or society at large.