Martin Seligman

American psychologist of learned helplessness who launched positive psychology as APA president in 1998.

Specifications & Metrics

lifespan

1942-

nationality

American

tradition

Clinical / positive psychology

Core Principles & Analysis

• Learned-helplessness experiments from 1967 showed dogs exposed to inescapable shock later failed to escape avoidable shock.
• He reframed the theory around explanatory style, linking pessimistic attribution to depression risk.
• As APA president in 1998 he made the study of human strengths a mainstream research agenda.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Martin Seligman