TOEFL Speaking 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 become available. This learned response stems from a belief that one's actions have no effect on outcomes, leading to passivity, reduced motivation, and a sense of powerlessness. Learned helplessness can generalize to new situations, undermining a person's capacity to cope with future challenges.

Professor: Let me illustrate this with an experiment. Researchers placed two groups of dogs in a shuttle box, a chamber divided by a low barrier. One group first received mild electric shocks in a harness from which they could not escape, regardless of what they did. The other group received shocks but could press a panel to stop them. Later, both groups were placed in the shuttle box. When a warning signal sounded, the floor of the box gave a shock, but the dogs could jump over the barrier to the safe side. The dogs that had learned to control the shocks quickly jumped over. However, the dogs that had experienced inescapable shocks simply lay down and whined. Even though the barrier was low and escape was easy, they made no attempt to jump. They had learned that their actions were futile, so they gave up, demonstrating learned helplessness.