Article Analysis – On Learned Helplessness and Gunman Kills Himself
Introduction
‘On Learned Helplessness’ by psychologist Seligman is an article addressing the phases through which people in trauma go through. This is the process that he calls learned helplessness, and he suggests ways to handle the situation. Seligman points out that the conditions in a traumatic person can elicit feelings of fear, depression, helplessness, and competence. This theory will be used to analyze the study material ‘Gunman Kills Himself After Hostage Drama’ written by Tim Waters and Charles Wallace. The occurrences in the article will be mirrored by the psychologist’s view on what trauma can drive one into, as will be illustrated in the essay.
Gunman Kills Himself
In a hostage situation, one may argue that the captor feels some sense of satisfaction and power over the captives by exercising control over them and even making demands to the outside world in an effort to end the hostage situation. However, psychologist Seligman argues that in such a situation, the captor experiences a feeling of control over themselves, which drives them to act in ways that they could never have thought of (Wallace and Waters 585). Robert Rose in ‘Gunman Kills Himself’ asserts control over himself in one last act in his troubled life. Robert hails from Leucadia, a town about thirty miles north of San Diego, and has had a troubled past. The revelation by a doctor about his health makes him angry and depressed. His mother reveals that he has spent quite a number of years under psychiatric care, and after it was revealed to him that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, Robert becomes a troubled man. His mother thinks that his action to cause a hostage situation was the last straw of his life to express how depression had driven him to the edge of existence (Wallace and Waters 584).
Seligman asserts in ‘On Learned Helplessness’ that it is hard for one to accept that they have become helpless. As such, a person is filled with fear when thinking of their condition, which turns into depression that is meant to suppress the emotional state of helplessness. Seligman also states that competence may be used by a victim to avoid fear and depression induced by helplessness. From this state of mind, Robert decides to take back control of his life. A combination of depression and wanting control over himself drives him to take a girl hostage in a hotel room. He thought that by executing a hostage situation, he would lose control of his life due to the debilitating disease that he was suffering from.
Having checked into the hotel late on a Saturday night, Robert Rose went out and later returned with the teenage lady, and they both went to his room. No one knew his motive at the time, but we learn from Seligman’s theory that the depression that he was suffering from made him experience a state of competence that is a drive to avoid helplessness (Wallace and Waters 586). The entire hostage situation may not have been given a forethought simply because of the false sense of competence that was pushing Robert to act in an insane manner. All that he wanted was to regain control over himself, but that ended in a tragedy.
Having cornered the seventeen-year-old girl in his room, Rose ordered her to take off her clothes while pointing a gun at her, threatening her life and warning her that he would commit suicide. When her demands to the girl are obeyed, he starts feeling like he has control over his life once more, and he takes the clothes and throws them outside (Wallace and Waters 584). The negotiations with the police that ensued are an indicator of their underlying fear of him. His request to see a Roman Catholic priest is a pointer to his desire to make a confession. Moreover, the police being engaged in the conversation to negotiate the end of the hostage situation was making him feel like he was in total control of the situation as the police were positively responding to his demands.
When it was announced that there was a pizza outside his door as he had ordered, Rose forced the girl to take it while wrapped only in a towel. This marked the beginning of the end of Rose as the girl was grabbed by the police and taken to safety. Rose was now alone in his room, and he had suddenly lost the control he was trying to recover. He resorted to firing at the police, who in return shot and wounded him in the chest. This is what Seligman describes as the great distress caused by traumatic experiences (Wallace and Waters 585). Robert learns that he cannot bring back the girl, and depression replaces fear. A gunshot is heard from the room, and when police storm into the room, they find Robert had taken his own life. This is a clear indication that losing control of one’s life can be very depressing, and individuals can go to great lengths to reg