托福口语 Task 3

The concept of 'behavioral momentum' refers to the tendency of established behaviors to persist despite interruptions or changes in the environment. In psychology, this idea parallels physical momentum: once a behavior is well learned and reinforced repeatedly, it becomes resistant to disruption. Researchers study this by introducing distractions or altering conditions to see if the behavior continues. A high level of behavioral momentum means the behavior is robust and continues even when the original reinforcement is no longer present or when new stimuli compete for attention.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a classroom study. A teacher wanted to improve her students' habit of raising their hands before speaking. For two months, every time a student raised their hand, the teacher called on them and praised them. The behavior became strong. Then, the teacher began a new lesson that was very exciting—students were eager to share ideas. During this lesson, she stopped calling on students who raised hands, and instead she started asking questions directly to specific students. Surprisingly, most students still raised their hands even though they weren't being called on. They had learned the behavior so well that it continued even when the reward was removed. The teacher even introduced a noisy activity, but the hand-raising persisted for several weeks. This shows behavioral momentum—the habit was so established that it resisted the change in consequences.