passive; lacking initiative; lacking autonomy
Describes a person or attitude that is reactive rather than proactive, often with a negative connotation of being overly dependent or not self-directed. Used in psychology, education, and everyday criticism.
He has a passive personality and doesn't take initiative on his own.
With a passive learning attitude, it's hard to improve in a language.
消極的 means 'negative' or 'reluctant' in attitude, focusing on unwillingness to act, whereas 他動的 highlights being driven by others rather than oneself.
Compound of 他動 (たどう, 'other-move', i.e., being moved by others) and 的 (てき, '-like'). The term is modeled on the grammatical concept of transitive verbs (他動詞) but applied to human behavior.