托福口语 Task 3

The concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a psychological state in which an individual, after repeated failures or uncontrollable negative events, comes to believe that their actions have no effect on outcomes. As a result, they stop trying to change their situation, even when opportunities for success become available. This phenomenon was first identified in animal experiments but is also observed in humans, particularly in academic and social settings. Learned helplessness can lead to passivity, reduced motivation, and depression.

Professor: Let me give you an example from my own research. We conducted a study with college students who were given unsolvable puzzles for the first task. Despite their effort, they all failed. Then, we gave them a second set of puzzles that were actually solvable. Interestingly, many of these students gave up quickly, even though the puzzles were easy. They said things like, 'I can't do this' or 'Why bother?' In contrast, a control group who had faced solvable puzzles in the first task performed well on the second task. This shows that the initial experience of uncontrollable failure made the students believe that their efforts were useless, so they stopped trying, even when success was possible. This is a clear case of learned helplessness.