托福口语 Task 3

In behavioral psychology, the concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a condition in which an individual, after repeated exposure to unavoidable negative events, stops trying to escape or avoid them, even when opportunities for escape later become available. This passive response arises because the individual has learned that their actions have no effect on outcomes. Learned helplessness is often studied in animals but applies to humans as well, and it can be overcome through therapeutic interventions that restore perceived control.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a well-known study. Researchers put dogs in a chamber with a low barrier they could easily jump over. In the first phase, harnessed dogs received mild electric shocks that they could not avoid, no matter what they did. After several trials, the shocks stopped, but the dogs had already learned that nothing they did mattered. In the second phase, the dogs were placed in a shuttle box with a barrier. When a light signaled an impending shock, the dogs could jump over the barrier to escape. However, most dogs just lay down and whined, passively accepting the shocks. They didn’t even try to jump, even though escape was possible. This shows that their prior experience of uncontrollable events led to learned helplessness—they failed to act because they believed their efforts were useless.