Theodore L. Caputi | The Netter Center of learned optimism

The Quixotic Quaker | Service learning helps us and the community

By Theodore L. Caputi 10/14/15 12:09am

What makes certain people stand-out performers? For years, I’ve tried to pinpoint common qualities among high achievers. From my observation, the answer can be summed up in one word: optimism.

Optimistic thinkers lead happier, more productive lives. Who wouldn’t want to be an optimist? But too often, people believe that optimists are born, not made, and that their status is immutable.

Now what if I told you that optimism could be learned — that even the most dyed-in-the-wool pessimists could change their ways?

In the 1960s, Penn professor Martin Seligman studied a concept now known as “learned helplessness.” He subjected a sample of dogs to a series of shocks and trained them to believe that pulling a lever would put an end to the shocks. At first, the dogs worked to avoid the shock by pulling a lever. But for a subgroup of the dogs, the shocks continued even when the lever was pulled. In other words, the dogs “learned” that they were helpless — the shocks were coming no matter what. They gave up trying to help themselves.

The dogs — both those that learned helplessness and those that did not — were then placed into a different experiment, where all the dogs could escape a series of shocks by jumping over a bar. Even though the shocks were now avoidable, the dogs with learned helplessness were far less likely to jump over the than the dogs who had not learned helplessness. The phenomenon of learned helplessness was later observed in humans facing seemingly inescapable problems, such as children who had been frequently abused.

Fortunately, Seligman later found that, like helplessness, optimism could be learned. Learning optimism is rooted in changing how we think about the future and navigate obstacles. Optimists tend to believe they are in control and capable of solving problems. They see disappointments as bumps in the road to success, not impassable roadblocks that detour to failure. Seligman proved empirically that people could shift their mindset, become more optimistic, and, by extension, lead happier and healthier lives.

Penn is a terrifically optimistic institution, and a substantial portion of that optimism can be ascribed to Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships. The Netter Center is known for its service programs including Community School Student Partnerships, Moelis Access Science and Academically-Based Community Service courses that mobilize hundreds of Penn undergraduates as change agents in the West Philadelphia community. I volunteer with the Penn Leadership Training Institute – a community service group partnered with the Netter Center which provides leadership training at several local schools.

By enabling undergraduates to work on complex problems in a hands-on way, the Netter Center essentially “teaches” optimism. At the Netter Center, volunteers see their effort help an elementary school student learn to read at grade level or a high school senior become the first in her family to apply to college. How optimistic would you feel knowing you were powerful enough to change the course of someone’s life?

Perhaps its best work is spreading optimism to those in the West Philadelphia neighborhood.

Remember how the dogs in Seligman’s experiment learned helplessness after receiving shock after shock? Many West Philadelphians have similarly experienced learned helplessness. Poverty, prejudice and poorly functioning schools can, over time, wear down the spirits of young Philadelphians and convince them that they have no control over their destiny. But the Netter Center gives West Philadelphians the optimism they need to jump back into the driver’s seat and combat learned helplessness.

I witnessed this experience firsthand last week when my Penn Leadership Training Institute team visited one of our partner high schools. We talked about goal-setting, but one freshman was reluctant to write down a long-term goal. “What’s the point?” he asked, “I don’t know what’s going to happen to me down the road.” But once we discussed short-term goals — the baby steps that lead a person to reaching their long-term goals — I saw light come to his eyes. He was excited. This particular student wanted to become a classics teacher, and by the end of our session, he was excitedly arranging a meeting with the chair of his school’s classics department to seek out career guidance.

Benjamin Franklin sought to create a university where young people could develop the “Inclination” to “serve Mankind, one’s Country, Friends and Family.” This “Inclination” to serve is born from a great sense of optimism. Building optimism has been part of this school since its 18th century founding and continues to be an essential part of Penn through the everyday work of the Netter Center.

THEODORE L. CAPUTI is a College and Wharton junior from Washington Crossing, Pa., studying finance/statistics and mathematics. His email address is tcaputi@wharton.upenn.edu. “The Quixotic Quaker” appears every other Wednesday.

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