(Use of English: pt 3 word formation) write your answers in the boxes
After all, the man or woman from the Office for National Statistics or Ipsos Mori can't order you to go on a diet or lay off the wine. It is a question that has concerned social 2. for decades. They even have a name for it - The Social Desirability Bias. | 1.understand 2.science |
"People respond to surveys in the way they think they ought to. It is otherwise known as 3.," says Kate Fox, an alcohol and drinking culture expert who has done research for both the government and the drinks industry. "People also fool themselves about how much they drink, but it applies to most surveys, which is why one has to use other methods to really find out what is going on." It is a particular problem when it comes to "sins" such as alcohol and food. Britain is one of a 4. of nations - including the US - that has a mixed attitude to drinking", says Fox. "We have a moral 5. with alcohol. It is a bit of a 6. fruit." In countries with an "integrated drinking culture", such as more Latin nations, drinking is a "morally neutral issue, only slightly more controversial than coffee and tea". It is easy to see why people would want to make themselves look good - even to a researcher they have just met. But what about when the researcher leaves the room? Or hands them a separate 7. to be filled in privately? They're all ways used by researchers to try and balance out the Social Desirability Bias. "You still want to project a positive image of yourself even if the survey is anonymous," says Bobby Duffy, 8. director of Ipsos Mori's Social Research Institute. The gap between the amount of alcohol being sold in the UK and the amount people said they were drinking, was first observed in the 1980s, he says. The gap between perception and 9. reality might be particularly wide in the UK, he suggests. 10. of healthy eating in the UK is among the highest in Europe, yet the country also has the highest obesity rates. The key, says Duffy, is to view survey results as part of a bigger picture - and, he stresses, it is still possible to track overall social trends from self-reported surveys. By Brian Wheeler,bbc | 3.lie 4.hand 5.relate 6.forbid 7.question 8.manage 9.real 10.aware |
Cambridge monitor survey of english students in Spain infographics
