问答题
In this question, you will read a short passage, then listen to a lecture on the same topic, and then speak in response to a question about what you have read and heard. After you hear the question, you have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
Read the following information from a textbook.
SOCIAL NORMS AND BEHAVIOR
Human behavior is motivated by social norms. Social norms are the "rules" that describe what is typical or normal for most people. Social norms motivate people by providing evidence of what behavior will be best. In other words, if everyone is doing it, it must be the thing to do. Social pressure to conform offers a shortcut to deciding how to act in a given situation. By seeing what other people do, and by imitating their actions, one can usually choose efficiently. The perception of what most others are doing influences one to behave similarly.
Now cover the passage and listen to the recording. When you hear the question, begin preparing your response.
Use the examples from the lecture to explain how social norms influence human behavior.
【正确答案】
【答案解析】Key points:
Social norms are rules that describe what is typical for most people. Social norms motivate human behavior.
The professor talks about a study in hotels, in which two different bathroom signs influenced whether guests would reuse their towels. The social-norm message was more effective than the environmental message. This illustrates how social norms influence behavior in a given situation.
Another study showed that people were even more likely to reuse their towels when they were told that other guests in the same room had done so. This illustrates how social pressure motivates people to conform.
[听力原文]
Let me tell you about an interesting study that took place in hotels. If you"ve stayed in a hotel recently, you"ve probably noticed a sign in the bathroom asking you to help save the environment by reusing your towels. You see, when towels are washed every day, a large hotel uses a lot of water and energy So, many hotels are trying to reduce their costs and also help the environment.
In the study, researchers created two different signs for the bathrooms. Some rooms got a sign with a standard "green" message about saving the environment. Other rooms got a sign telling guests that most of their fellow guests had reused their towels.
And what do you think happened?
Well, the results confirmed what experts in persuasion had long believed. For towel reuse in hotels, social pressure beats "green" values. The social-norm message was about 25 percent more effective than the environmental message.
The results were even more remarkable in a follow-up study that tested different variations on the social-norm message. Telling guests that others who had stayed in the same room had reused their towels worked better than saying that other guests at the same hotel had done so, even though all the rooms were alike.
Use the examples from the lecture to explain how social norms influence human behavior.