托福口语 Task 3

The concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a psychological phenomenon where an individual, after repeatedly facing uncontrollable negative events, begins to believe that their actions have no effect on outcomes, even when opportunities for control later become available. This belief leads to passivity and a failure to act, despite the possibility of escape or change. Learned helplessness is often studied in both animals and humans, and it illustrates how past experiences can shape future behavior and motivation.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a classic experiment with dogs. In the first phase, dogs were placed in a chamber where they received mild electric shocks. One group could press a panel to stop the shocks, while the other group received shocks that were inescapable—nothing they did could stop them. In the second phase, both groups were placed in a shuttle box with a low barrier. When a shock was given, they could easily jump over the barrier to escape. The dogs that had control earlier quickly learned to jump over. But the dogs that had experienced inescapable shocks just lay down and whined, even though escape was now possible. They had learned to be helpless. They didn't even try, because their past experience taught them that nothing they did mattered.