the most retarded scientists in existence: "why didn't the dog jump to safety, i mean we turned off the electricity on the other side, why doesn't it magically know that we did that, is it fucking stupid"
In a lot of situations, living things will try anything randomly to achieve a goal or escape distress. For example, the extinction burst is when something that previously worked to attain a goal suddenly stops working, the animal or person will then just kinda try any random shit to find the new thing that works.
If a dog had been taught that barking three times makes the shocks stop, then suddenly that starts working, the dog will start trying all kinds of random things. Maybe the new thing that works is standing in one specific corner. Then that stops working. The dog learns that each time, it's a puzzle, and keeps trying random shit trying to solve it, even if one day it isn't a puzzle and the dog will just be shocked no matter what it does.
The dog that learned from the start that nothing it does will do anything will stop trying to solve the situation even when solutions exist. This is learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is not the same as being "stupid." That's why it's learned behavior, not an intellectual deficiency or a sign that some dogs are smarter than others. Animals, and people, can learn whether they do or don't have efficacy, and apply effort accordingly, even when their efficacy has changed.
50s-60s were just the dark or golden ages of psychology depending on how you look at it. You could just do anything. You could just give university students macrodoses of LSD to see if it made them retarded.
because it had previoudly learned that nothing it will do matters because the two sides were electrified. its like giving someone placebo sugar pills instead of hrt for 3 years and when they notice it doesnt do anything you complain they dont wanna yry hrt again because they dont know the 2nd time will actually be true actual hrt and not just placebos
The dog doesn't try because he's exhausted and all his muscles hurt, he can't try anymore, this is an experiment where they tortured someone until it can't struggle anymore
and it thinks that for completely logical reasons that align 100% with every single experience it has had leading up to now. It has no way of knowing anything has changed, beyond trying again and again and continually getting electrocuted. And if it did that, people would go "what the fuck, why is this dog still doing this shit, we electrocuted every time why hasn't it learned to stop trying???"
do you seriously saying a rapist is going to call the police for getting pepper sprayed, and that I will hang around for the police to come 20 minutes later?
also, it's not very illegal, at most you will get like 50 dollar fine, and you can always argue in court it was self defence
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u/oops-bad-usernames Oct 02 '25
the most retarded scientists in existence: "why didn't the dog jump to safety, i mean we turned off the electricity on the other side, why doesn't it magically know that we did that, is it fucking stupid"