This response of apathy and inaction tends to be associated with the emotional reactions of sadness and dejection. Learned helplessness involves passive behavior produced by exposure to unavoidable aversive events. Some people respond to stress with fatalism and resignation, passively accepting setbacks that mght be dealt with effectively. Cognitive interpretation of aversive events determines whether one develops learned helplessness, which seems to occur when individuals come to believe that events are beyond their control. Carver and his colleagues studied behavioral disengagement , and found that it is associated with increased rather than decreased distress.
Social withdrawal is a more adaptive value.
Many people pull back from their interactions with others, becoming socially distant and preoccupied. Discuss the adaptive value of aggression in response to stress. Aggression involves any behavior intended to hurt someone, either physically or verbally.