Английский язык учебник

Exercise 4. Complete the sentences using one of the words below.

comply coerce affect conform compel influence

1.Most studies of conformity and obedience focus on whether or not individuals overtly ___ with the in fluence.

2.Social psychology studies social environment of people, their relations in the community, how they interact and ___ one another.

3.Being with other people can ___ us in diverse ways.

4.In this section we examine influence that per suades rather than ___.

5.We have to ___ to the accepted rules of the society.

6.He was ___ by illness to give up smoking.

Exercise 5. Match each definition with the appropri ate title.

vailing opinions, attitudes, actions and perceptions.

SPEAKING AND DISCUSSION

Exercise 1. Retell the text dwelling on the following points:

–the subject matter of social psychology

–factors and forces that influence our behavior

–compliance and internalization

–persuasive communication

–reference groups and identification

–from identification to internalization

Exercise 2. Discuss the following statements with your group mates making use of the ex pressions below.

My point is that…

I am perfectly aware that… I doubt if (that)…

It’s hardly likely (that)… I’m against it…

It must be admitted (noted, pointed out) that…

1.Human behavior is a function of both the person and the situation.

2.There are a lot of things that can affect us.

3.Compliance with orders and requests often depends on our unwitting allegiance to social norms.

4.In the process of identification we obey the norms and adopt the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of groups that we respect and admire.

5.College students frequently move away from the views of their family reference group toward the college reference group.

6.After college we tend to select new reference groups that share our views.

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions using your active vocabulary.

1.How do you feel in the presence of other people (your parents, friends, group mates, well known people, newcomers, unknown people, highly ranked people)?

2.When you are in a crowd do you feel that you lose your identity and merge into the group?

3.Are you an easy person to persuade?

4.What would you prefer – to comply with another person’s ideas or to compel him to your will?

5.What can affect your decision making?

6.Which source of information is more influential in your buying decision (the survey of several thou

sand owners of a car, for instance, or your neigh bour or friend?

7.Is it difficult for you the obey to authority?

8.Can you adjust your position to conform to that of the majority?

9.Is it possible to regulate your attitudes and behav ior within your reference group?

10.Can you identify any changes in your beliefs and attitudes that have come about by being exposed to a new reference group?

Exercise 4. Give a description of an occasion when you were under conflicting pressure.

Say:

–between what reference groups there was a conflict

–what group you belonged to

–what group you tried to adjust to

–what affected your decision making

–how you solved the problem

–if you were satisfied with the result

Exercise 5. Scan the text and do the tasks below.

IDENTITY ACHIEVEMENT

Though Sigmund Freud believed that psychosocial development is essentially complete by the age of 6, psychologists have found that it continues through ad olescence into adulthood and old age. Perhaps the most important psychological tasks of adolescence are the formation of a personal identity and the development of healthy relationships with peers and parents.

According to Erikson’s (1963) psychological theo ry of development, the most important task of adoles cence is to resolve the crisis of identity versus role con fusion. The adolescent develops a sense of identity by adopting his or her own set of values and social behav iors, but this generally does not occur before the ado

lescent experiments with a variety of values and social behaviors – often to the displeasure of parents. If you observe groups of adolescents, you will see clothing styles, religious beliefs and social interactions that may contrast markedly with parental norms. Erikson believes this is a normal part of finding answers to questions related to one’s identity, such as “What are my values?” and “What are my goals?”

To appreciate the task confronting the adolescent, consider the challenge of having to adjust simulta neously to a new body, a new mind, and a new social world. The adolescent body is larger and sexually ma ture. The adolescent mind can question the nature of reality and argue about abstract concepts regarding ethical, political, and religious beliefs. The social world of the adolescent requires achieving a balance between childlike dependence and adultlike indepen dence. This also manifests itself in the conflict between parental and peer influences. Whereas children’s val ues mirror their parents’, adolescent values oscillate between those of their parents and those of their peers. The adolescent moves from a world guided by parental wishes to a world in which he or she is confronted by a host of choices regarding sex, drugs, friends, school work, and a variety of other situations.

Research on adolescent identity crisis by James Marcia (1966) has identified four identity statuses: foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion, and achievement. In identity foreclosure, the adolescent prematurely adopts the values and behaviors mandated by his or her parents. This failure to experiment with different identities and freely decide on one’s own may lead to an inauthentic personality. In identity moratorium, the adolescent postpones settling on a particular iden tity. This might be akin to Erikson’s failure to find a satisfactory identity until early adulthood. In identity diffusion, the adolescent fails to make a progress to ward a sense of identity, arbitrarily shifting from one to another. Finally, in identity achievement, the ado

lescent settles on a particular identity after trying sev eral alternatives. Marcia’s view of identity statuses has received mixed support , with some studies favor ing it and others contradicting it.

Erikson’s theory of adolescence has received support from studies showing that adolescents typically do move from a state of role confusion to a state of identity achievement. This achievement has positive effects. For example, a strong sense of identity may serve as a buffer against life stresses. Those with a stronger sense of iden tity perceived life changes less negatively than did those with a weaker sense of identity.

Carol Gilligan believes that Erikson’s theory applies more to males than to females. She points out that Erik son based his theory on studies of males, who might place a greater premium on the development of self sufficiency than do females, who might place a greater premium on intimate relationships in which there is mutual caring. Thus, an adolescent female who fails to develop an inde pendent identity at the same time as her male age peers might unfairly be considered abnormal.

Because the adolescent is dependent on parents while seeking an independent identity, adolescence has traditionally been considered a period of conflict be tween parents and children, or what G. Stanley Hall called a period of “storm and stress”. Parents may be shocked by their child’s preferences in dress, music, and vocabulary. Adolescents, in trying out various styles and values, are influenced by the cohort to which they belong. Thus, adolescent males shocked their parents by wearing pompadours in the 1950s, shoulder length hair in the 1970s, and sculptured hairdos in the 1990s.

Despite the normal conflicts between parental val ues and adolescent behaviors, most adolescents have positive relations with their parents. Adolescent con flicts with parents generally have more to do with su perficial stylistic questions than with substantive ques tions about values. Positive relations with parents not

Task 3. Give a summary of the text using your ac tive vocabulary.

Exercise 6. Put the words in the box under the follow ing headings:

–positive adjectives

–negative adjectives

Consult your dictionary if necessary.

Exercise 7. Read the text below and be ready to answer the questions using the words from Ex. 6.

1.Are teenagers a problem?

2.Do teenagers have problems?

3.What do you think about your age mates?

Parents and grandparents always seem to start from the premise that teenagers are in a special category when it comes to defining the human race. According to “the older generation” teenagers are lazy, they wear ridicu lous clothes and are appallingly rude to their betters and elders; they find it impossible to be polite, helpful, con structive, caring or hard working. What’s more, they spend all their time listening to awful music (“It isn’t music, it’s just a collection of horrendous noises!”) and gawking at unsuitable films. And all they ever think about is parties, drugs and sex. Well, that’s how the sto ry goes! But is it anywhere near the truth?

Actually it seems to me to be quite the opposite of the truth. Teenagers spend a lot of time thinking about

their work (studies), their families and friends and their hobbies. Sure, there are certain preoccupations such as clothes, money, how to behave in a certain situ ation, their bodies.

But isn’t it the same for most people? So what about the myth that all teenagers are rude, selfish, lazy and greedy? As far as I’m concerned, it’s non sense. The vast majority of young people I meet are po lite, friendly, open, interested and hard working.

It’s true, of course, that sometimes teenagers have special problems. It is a difficult time because it is a period of transformation. It isn’t quite as bad as a chrysalis changing into a butterfly but it may seem like it – or even the other way round! It isn’t easy to grow up and physical and emotional changes are often confusing and worrying. But it’s my impression that most young people cope rather well.

“Teenagers: What Problems?” by Jeremy Gastle. “Speak out” 3/2000, pp. 12–13

Exercise 8. Comment on the mottoes to live by.

–Your life is what you make of it.

–God helps those who help themselves.

–Miracles happen to those who believe.

–If you want to be on top, don’t let education stop.

–If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

–To make the world a friendly place, one must show it a friendly face.

Exercise 9. Take this one minute quiz to find out how satisfied you are with your life. Rate each statement according to the scale.

In most ways, my life is close to my ideal. The conditions of my life are excellent.

I am satisfied with my life.

So far, I’ve got the important things I want in life. If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

by Ed.Diener, Prof. of Psychology at the University of Illinois. “Speak Out”, 1/2000, p. 14

WRITING

Exercise 1. Translate the following sentences from the text “Identity Achievement” (Ex. 5).

1.According to Erikson’s theory of development, the most important task of adolescence is to re solve the crisis of identity versus role confu sion.

2.The social world of the adolescent requires achiev ing a balance between childlike dependence and adultlike independence.

3.Research on the adolescent identity crisis by James Marcia has identified four identity sta tuses: foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion and achievement.

4.Erikson’s theory of adolescence has received sup port from studies showing that adolescents typical ly do move from a state of role confusion to a state of identity achievement.

5.Erikson based his theory on studies of males, who might place a greater premium on the development of self sufficiency than do females, who might place a greater premium on intimate relationships in which there is mutual caring.