Question

individuals who believe that an unpleasant experience is unavoidable and therefore do nothing to change the course of events are exhibiting
a. self - actualization attributes
b. the fight - or - flight response
c. attributional deficits
d. cognitive dissonance
e. learned helplessness

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: Self - actualization is about fulfilling one's potential, not related to avoiding action due to perceived inevitability.
• Option B: Fight - or - flight is a stress response of action (fight or run), not inaction.
• Option C: Attributional deficits relate to how we assign causes, not the described inaction from perceived inevitability.
• Option D: Cognitive dissonance is about conflicting beliefs/attitudes, not about inaction from seeing events as unavoidable.
• Option E: Learned helplessness occurs when individuals believe outcomes are uncontrollable (unavoidable) and stop trying to change them, matching the description.

Answer:

E. learned helplessness