In a study by Madelon Visintainer and Martin Seligman et al 1982 it was found that when rats were given tumor cells, those without 'learned helplessness' had a better immune system to fight the cancerous cells. The study came after Seligman's discovery of learned helplessness in 1967, which propelled the starting of parts of the positive psychology and cognitive psychology movements. Before this discovery, many of the explanations for human behavior hindered on two theories: behaviorism (operant and classical conditioning) and genetics (behaviors passed down from your parents through genes). Seligman's discovery of how dogs can learn to be helpless, meaning they no longer had the motivation to perform tasks that were beneficial for them, lead to the subsequent research ideas like optimism and pessimism and furthermore, depression.
Before Visintainer applied to Seligman's lab at the University of Pennsylvania she had been curious about a previous behavioral study conducted by Ellen Langer and Judy Rodin at the Shady Grove nursing home in Connecticut. Langer and Rodin had separated the nursing home into two groups by floor. One group was told that there were many amenities in the nursing home and they could choose to schedule the activities themselves. The other group had a rigid schedule when it came to the activities they could do. The amenities and activities included omelets on certain days and movies on certain nights. After eighteen months, they found the group with choices about what they could do were much more active, happier, and even more significant, less had died. The group had learned that their behavior of choice had lead to direct outcomes. Subsequently, the group that did not have the choices would be considered the group that showed pessimism and had developed learned helplessness, meaning they knew their behavior lead to no tangible outcomes.
Visintainer wanted to investigate this phenomenon further and see how learned helplessness affected health. She injected rats with sarcoma cancer cells and performed a similar experiment to Seligman's where she administered the animals shocks. What she found was astounding, rats that learned that they could control the situation (optimistic rats) showed a decrease in tumor cells. Subsequently, tumor cells grew on rats that learned helplessness (pessimistic rats). This study suggests a connection between the psychological conditioned of an organism and its subsequent physical condition(dualism), something that still today many scientists(materialists) deny.
Larry Sklar and Hymie Anisman also discovered the same phenomenon as Visintainer around the same time, so she's not officially the first one to demonstrate that a psychological state - learned helplessness- or pessimism, could advance cancer. Other studies since Visintainer's have also demonstrated that being optimistic can lead to a stronger immune system, openness to gain professional medical advice, and the ability to reach out for social support (middle aged adults who have close friends show better health than those who are friendless). All these factors statistically guide a person to better health outcomes.
Seligman, Martin E. (2011-08-10). Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life (Vintage) (Ch. 10). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Eli
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