TOEFL Speaking Task 3

The concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a psychological state in which an individual, after repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative events, begins to believe that their actions have no effect on outcomes. This belief leads to passivity and a failure to attempt escape or change, even when opportunities for control later become available. Learned helplessness was first identified in animal experiments but has since been applied to human behavior, particularly in educational and clinical settings. It highlights how prior experiences can shape future motivation and learning.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a classic study. Researchers put dogs in a chamber with a low barrier they could easily jump over. In the first phase, the dogs were strapped in harnesses and given mild electric shocks that they could not avoid—no matter what they did, the shocks stopped only when the experimenter decided. After several trials, the dogs were placed in the shuttle box with the barrier. When the shock began, the dogs initially yelped but then just lay down and whined—they didn't even try to jump. This was surprising because dogs that had never experienced the inescapable shocks quickly learned to jump over the barrier to escape. The difference was that the first group had learned that their efforts were futile, so they gave up. This passivity persisted even when escape was clearly possible, demonstrating learned helplessness.