托福口语 Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a condition in which an individual repeatedly faces an uncontrollable, negative situation and eventually stops trying to change it, even when opportunities to escape or improve the situation later become available. This learned passivity arises from a perceived lack of control, which generalizes to new contexts. Learned helplessness is often studied in both animals and humans, and it can affect motivation, learning, and emotional well-being.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a well-known experiment. Researchers placed dogs in a chamber with a low barrier that they could easily jump over to escape a mild electric shock. But first, they restrained the dogs so they couldn't move while receiving the shocks. After several trials, the dogs were placed in the chamber without restraints. Instead of jumping over the barrier, they simply lay down and whined, passively enduring the shocks. Even though escape was now possible, they had learned that their actions were futile. The key point is that their previous experience of uncontrollability made them give up, even in a new, escapable situation. This demonstrates learned helplessness in action.