TOEFL Speaking Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a condition in which an individual, after repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative events, comes to believe that their actions have no effect on outcomes. This belief leads to passivity and a failure to act, even when opportunities for change or escape become available. Learned helplessness often arises from a lack of agency in past experiences, and it can affect learning, motivation, and emotional well-being.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a study with dogs. In this experiment, dogs were placed in a chamber with an electrified floor. One group of dogs could stop the shocks by pressing a panel with their noses. Another group received shocks of the same intensity and duration, but their panel did nothing—they had no control. Later, both groups were placed in a new chamber with a low barrier they could easily jump over to escape the shocks. The first group quickly learned to jump over the barrier. But the second group, the ones who had experienced uncontrollable shocks, just lay down and whined. They didn't even try to jump, even though escape was easy. They had learned that their efforts were useless, so they gave up. That's learned helplessness in action.