托福口语 Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a condition in which an individual, after repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative events, begins to believe that they have no control over their environment, even when opportunities for escape or change later become available. This belief leads to passivity and a failure to act, despite the possibility of altering the situation. Learned helplessness is often studied in both animals and humans, and it highlights the powerful impact of perceived control on motivation and behavior.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a study with dogs. In the experiment, dogs were placed in a chamber with a low barrier dividing it into two sections. One group of dogs first received mild electric shocks that they could not avoid, no matter what they did. The other group could stop the shocks by pressing a panel. After this initial phase, both groups were placed in the shuttle box where they could easily jump over the barrier to escape the shocks. The dogs that had learned to control the shocks quickly jumped over the barrier to escape. However, the dogs that had experienced uncontrollable shocks—even though the barrier was low and escape was easy—just lay down and whined. They didn't even try to jump. They had learned that their actions didn't matter, so they gave up.