Individual Performance and the Presence of Others
A person's performance on tasks can be enhanced or impaired by the mere presence of others, and a person's behavior as part of a group can be quite different from the person's behavior when acting alone.
一个人的表现会受到其他人的影响(±)，在群体中vs单独
In certain cases, individual performance can be either helped or hindered阻碍 by the physical presence of others. The term social facilitation refers to any effect on performance, whether positive or negative, that can be attributed to the presence of others. Research on this phenomenon has focused on two types of effects: audience effects (the impact of passive被动的 spectators on performance) and coaction effects (the effect on performance caused by the presence of other people engaged in the same task).
好坏都有影响。研究者关注两种影响：听众效应(旁观)和合作效应(协作)
In one of the first studies in social psychology, psychologist Norman Triplett looked at coaction effects. He had observed in official bicycle records that bicycle racers pedaled faster when they were pedaling against other racers than when they were racing against the clock. Was this pattern of performance peculiar to competitive bicycling Or was it part of a more general phenomenon whereby people work faster and harder in the presence of others than when performing alone Triplett set up a study in which he told 40 children to wind fishing reels as quickly as possible under two conditions: alone or in the presence of other children performing the same task. He found that the children worked faster when other reel turners were present than when they performed alone.
Norman Triplett关注合作效应：人们一起做同样的事情的时候做的更快
Social psychologist Robert Zajonc proposed an explanation for these seemingly contradictory effects. He reasoned that we become aroused激发 by the presence of others and that arousal facilitates the dominant response the one most natural to us. On simple tasks and on tasks at which we are skilled, the dominant response is to perform effectively. However, on tasks that are difficult or tasks we are just learning, the incorrect response (making a mistake or not performing effectively) is dominant. This reasoning accounts for the repeated findings that, in the presence of others, performance improves on tasks that people do easily but suffers on difficult tasks. Other researchers have suggested that concern over the observers' evaluation is what most affects people's performance, particularly if they expect a negative evaluation.
Robert Zajonc ：人们会被激发。简单和熟练的任务，主要回应是展现高效;困难或刚学会的任务，主要回应是犯错误。——performance在简单任务中提升，在困难任务中下降
What happens in cooperative tasks when two or more people are working together instead of competing Do they increase their effort or slack off松懈 Researcher Bibb Latan used the term social loafing to refer to people's tendency to exert less effort when working with others on a common task than when they work alone. Social loafing occurs in situations where no one person's contribution to the group can be identified and individuals are neither praised for a good performance nor blamed for a poor one. In one experiment, Latan and others asked male students to shout and clap as loudly as possible, first alone and then in groups. In groups of two, individuals made only 71 percent of the noise they had made alone; in groups of four, each student put forth 51 percent of his solo effort; and with six students, each made only a 40 percent effort.
人们协作而不是竞争的时候。
Bibb Latan “social loafing”社会懒惰：不表扬好的，不责怪坏的
Harkins and Jackson found that social loafing disappeared when participants in a group believed that each person's performance could be monitored and evaluated; indeed, even the idea that the group performance may be evaluated against some standard can be sufficient to eliminate the loafing effect. When a group is relatively small and group evaluation is important, some members will even expend extra effort if they know that some of their coworkers are unwilling, unreliable, or incompetent to perform well. Moreover, social loafing is unlikely when participants can evaluate their own individual contribution or when they have a personal stake in the outcome. It is also unlikely when participants feel that the task is challenging or when they are working with close friends or teammates. Some 80 experimental studies have been conducted on social loafing in diverse cultures. Based on evidence these studies have produced, social loafing probably occurs in almost all cultures.
Harkins and Jackson “social loafing”社会懒惰消失，
Paragraph1：A person's performance on tasks can be enhanced or impaired by the mere presence of others, and a person's behavior as part of a group can be quite different from the person's behavior when acting alone.
1. The word enhanced in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ interrupted
○ improved
○ influenced
○ hurt
B 很简单，必背词汇
2. What role does paragraph 1 play in the passage
○ It introduces a common opinion that the rest of the passage challenges on the basis of scientific evidence.
○ It explains why the passage focuses on actions people take individually rather than on actions people take as part of a group.
○ It offers a specific example of a general principle discussed in the rest of the passage.
○ It describes two phenomena, possible explanations of which are considered in the rest of the passage.
答案D，段落作用题。 一般第一段话都是定义/背景/引出下文的总分结构，带这个预判去看题。 首先，P1说了两个点，人的行为可以被别人影响(有好有坏)，人的行为在独处和团体重是不同的。 总体逻辑是呈现了好坏，不同的对比逻辑。 A选项的challenges是反驳、B选项rather than是二选一、C选项example是总分，D选项two phenomena及解释。 结合好还及different的对比逻辑，选择D选项。
Paragraph2：In certain cases, individual performance can be either helped or hindered by the physical presence of others. The term social facilitation refers to any effect on performance, whether positive or negative, that can be attributed to the presence of others. Research on this phenomenon has focused on two types of effects: audience effects (the impact of passive spectators on performance) and coaction effects (the effect on performance caused by the presence of other people engaged in the same task).
3. According to paragraph 2, the term "social facilitation" refers to the phenomenon that a person's performance
○ is intended to help someone
○ is influenced by the presence of other people
○ is evaluated by other people
○ has an effect on others working on the same task
答案B，refers to直接对应，本句得到答案，复杂一点点的指代题
Paragraph3：In one of the first studies in social psychology, psychologist Norman Triplett looked at coaction effects. He had observed in official bicycle records that bicycle racers pedaled faster when they were pedaling against other racers than when they were racing against the clock. Was this pattern of performance peculiar to competitive bicycling Or was it part of a more general phenomenon whereby people work faster and harder in the presence of others than when performing alone Triplett set up a study in which he told 40 children to wind fishing reels as quickly as possible under two conditions: alone or in the presence of other children performing the same task. He found that the children worked faster when other reel turners were present than when they performed alone.
4. The phrase peculiar to in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ damaging to
○ unique to
○ rare in
○ new in
B 很简单，必背词汇
5. The study conducted by Norman Triplett described in paragraph 3 supported the hypothesis that
○ coaction effects are stronger on the performance of children than they are on the performance of adults
○ coaction effects are limited to situations in which the time taken for a task matters
○ people perform better when they know that their performance is being measured by someone
○ people perform better in the presence of others who are doing the same thing they are
D 这道题在文章中无法找到明确的hypothesis，需要我们进行总结首先在第一句确认，Norman Triplett这个科学家研究的是coaction effects，往后看文章描述的是NT这个人在做各种观察和实验的过程，并不是理论。我们综合整体部分推理的思路：“在整体当中的一部分，应该具备整体的特征”进行理解——从第二句开始自行车运动员之间的比较、工作人员工作的快速和努力的比较、孩子们一起做事情很快速，都是讲任何人之间在做同一件事情的时候，会更高效，选D选项
A 大人和孩子的比较 错误 B 时间是决定因素 错误 C measured by someone错误
Paragraph4：Social psychologist Robert Zajonc proposed an explanation for these seemingly contradictory effects. He reasoned that we become aroused by the presence of others and that arousal facilitates the dominant response the one most natural to us. On simple tasks and on tasks at which we are skilled, the dominant response is to perform effectively. However, on tasks that are difficult or tasks we are just learning, the incorrect response (making a mistake or not performing effectively) is dominant. This reasoning accounts for the repeated findings that, in the presence of others, performance improves on tasks that people do easily but suffers on difficult tasks. Other researchers have suggested that concern over the observers' evaluation is what most affects people's performance, particularly if they expect a negative evaluation.
6. According to paragraph 4, Robert Zajonc proposed that whether the presence of others hurts or helps a person's performance is determined by
○ how skilled the observers are in the task that they are observing
○ how closely the person is being watched
○ whether or not the person finds the task difficult
○ whether or not the person likes the people who are watching
C 细节题关注 is determined by的表述，说明答案应该是可以决定具体表现的原因，这是一个因果关系，找原因，在前面。同义转换is determined by=He reasoned that往后看两句，第一句关键词skilled，第二句关键词difficult对应C选项
7. According to paragraph 4, if other people are present, a person's performance on a task that he or she is just learning would most likely be
○ somewhat worse than if no one else is there
○ somewhat better than if no one else is there
○ completely unaffected by the presence of those other people
○ dependent on the number of people who are present
A 细节题定位just learning 原文完全对应However, on tasks that are difficult or tasks we are just learning, the incorrect response (making a mistake or not performing effectively) is dominant.很简单 选A
Paragraph5：What happens in cooperative tasks when two or more people are working together instead of competing Do they increase their effort or slack off Researcher Bibb Latan used the term social loafing to refer to people's tendency toexert less effort when working with others on a common task than when they work alone. Social loafing occurs in situations where no one person's contribution to the group can be identified and individuals are neither praised for a good performance nor blamed for a poor one. In one experiment, Latan and others asked male students to shout and clap as loudly as possible, first alone and then in groups. In groups of two, individuals made only 71 percent of the noise they had made alone; in groups of four, each student put forth 51 percent of his solo effort; and with six students, each made only a 40 percent effort.
8. The word exert in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ put forth 提出; 放出
○ waste
○ demand
○ accept
A exert利用
9. According to paragraph 5, people tend to engage in social loafing when they
○ prefer to work alone
○ fear being blamed for a poor performance
○ believe that their individual performance will not be identified
○ desire to be loyal to their group
C细节题 定位social loafing完全对应Social loafing occurs in situations where no one person's contribution to the group can be identified and individuals are neither praised for a good performance nor blamed for a poor one.选C
10. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5 about Bibb Latan's research on social loafing
○ The less a person likes to work alone, the harder that person is likely to work as a member of a group.
○ The less a person contributes to a group, the more likely it is that person will be blamed if the group performs poorly.
○ The more people there are in a group, the more likely they are to compete with each other.
○ The fewer people there are in a group, the less likely it is that social loafing will occur.
D 选项中是比较级，根据存在数据的 In groups of two, individuals made only 71 percent of the noise they had made alone; in groups of four, each student put forth 51 percent of his solo effort; and with six students, each made only a 40 percent effort.推理出答案D
逻辑，比较级
Paragraph6：Harkins and Jackson found that social loafing disappeared when participants in a group believed that each person's performance could be monitored and evaluated; indeed, even the idea that the group performance may be evaluated against some standard can be sufficient to eliminate the loafing effect. When a group is relatively small and group evaluation is important, some members will even expend extra effort if they know that some of their coworkers are unwilling, unreliable, or incompetent to perform well. Moreover, social loafing is unlikely when participants can evaluate their own individual contribution【D】 or when they have a personal stake in the outcome. It is also unlikely when participants feel that the task is challenging【B】 or when they are working with close friends or teammates【C】. Some 80 experimental studies have been conducted on social loafing in diverse cultures. Based on evidence these studies have produced, social loafing probably occurs in almost all cultures.
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