托福口语 Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a condition in which an individual, after repeatedly experiencing uncontrollable negative events, begins to believe that their actions have no effect on outcomes. As a result, they stop trying to change their situation, even when opportunities for relief become available. This passive behavior is learned through past failures, not innate traits.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a famous experiment. Researchers placed dogs in a chamber with an electrified floor. In the first phase, the dogs could not escape the shocks, no matter what they did. After several trials, they stopped resisting and just lay down, whimpering. In the second phase, the researchers added a low barrier that the dogs could easily jump over to escape the shock. But instead of jumping, the dogs remained passive, not even attempting to cross the barrier. They had learned that escape was impossible, so they gave up. This shows how learned helplessness can generalize to new situations, even when the environment has changed and escape is actually possible.