Helping or Helpless: Political Consequences of Learned Helplessness in the U.S.

• In Event: Stigma and Constrained Political Agency

Abstract

Given the current political climate in the U.S., one that is contentious, unequal, and polarized, this project considers the quandary of instrumental versus expressive political behavior by examining explanations for different forms of political exit and voice, e.g., when someone will turn out to vote or rather, turn to a rally or protest. The project seeks to push the existing concept of political disaffection by incorporating work on learned helplessness. This construct captures a sense of powerlessness resulting from trauma, persistent failure to succeed, or loss of control, which becomes incorporated into perceptions of the self and the ability to change their circumstances. This project demonstrates that learned helplessness has discriminant validity when compared to, and incremental predictive validity beyond, constructs of political disaffection in predicting political behavior. To examine the impact of learned helplessness, this project stems from dissertation work, utilizing both original survey and experimental methods across five cross-sectional and nationally representative samples. This work demonstrates that situations and experiences of repeated failure that lead people to feel helpless have consequences for feelings of disaffection, how they disengage from instrumental political behavior, and alternatively engage in more expressive forms of political behavior.

Author

• Christina Farhart, Carleton College