【雅思】雅思写作社会类话题

社会类在雅思写作考试中是一个常考话题，在2014年的雅思考试中社会类的考题最多，占据28%这样一个比例。本文对 “竞争”与“合作”从原因、影响等几个方面进行探讨。以下黄线部分为亮点词汇。

Cooperation vs. Competition: Greed is good -- but only a moderate amount

Relationships between cooperation, competition, and society have long been pondered by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, economists, philosophers, and mathematicians. While (as might be expected) a range of conclusions have been reached, one factor that appears to be essential in achieving and maintaining an equitable distribution of human well-being is social cohesion – that is, a societal infrastructure characterized by high levels of cooperation and a large number of social ties between members of the population. At the same time, however, individual self-interest appears to be inversely related to – and indeed often leads to a breakdown of – social cohesion. As researchers in Switzerland have recently found, however, a moderate level of greed can actually establish a framework in which cooperation and agglomeration (grouping) flourish and societal cohesion prevails.

Dr. Carlos P. Roca and Prof. Dirk Helbing, Chair of Sociology, Modeling and Simulation at ETH Zurich, (Prof. Helbing also of the complexity research-focused Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico), studied a minimalist model of society with very low-information assumptions. In their Public Goods Games-based model, subjects aim to satisfy their aspirations according to a self-interest trait that the researchers call greediness. (Public Goods Games, or PGGs, exemplify the joint but discretionary contribution to a common good.)

One key finding is that Roca and Helbing’s model relies solely on individuals referencing own past experience – a key finding that obviates the variables typically considered in similar research, including greenbeard effects (which would allow subjects to distinguish favorable neighborhoods from unfavorable ones in advance) along with other mechanisms that are known to support cooperation, such as future forecasts, reputation, or punishment.

Addressing the role of greenbeard effects – a process actively debated by evolutionary biologists – Roca points out that these seem to be far less widespread than cooperation. “On the other hand,” he adds, “there is a fairly good agreement now on the fact that stable cooperation requires some kind of cooperator assortment. Many models and mechanisms proposed to date can account for that assortment of cooperators, but they usually imply some identification of others' behavior, which in the end leads to some kind of greenbeard effect. One of the main points of our model is that it can explain cooperation with absolutely no knowledge of others' behavior, so it offers a solution for this issue.”

That said, Roca stresses that their results imply that greenbeard effects are not necessary for cooperation. “People, by observing their own performance instead of others' profits and behavior, can behave cooperatively in an, evolutionarily speaking, successful way. This is of course compatible with the fact that in some particular cases greenbeard effects may exist, and that they can have a role in supporting cooperative behavior – but they do not have to be widespread. In any case,” he points out, “absolute no-exception laws in biology are extremely scarce.”

Roca takes a similar position when considering other factors typically employed in cooperation/competition analysis and prediction. “In my opinion,” he says, “the key factor is the decision protocol followed by individuals. We use a self-referential satisficing model” – i.e., one that determines satisfaction by comparing their payoff with their aspiration level – “which yields completely different collective behavior from the one that is obtained with optimizing or imitative behavior. Cooperation is quite difficult to explain if people are strong optimizers or imitators, but not so much if they look to be satisfied to a certain extent.”

That being said, Roca is quick to point out that models cannot prove themselves more correct or wrong than others in explaining a particular phenomenon. What they do show, he explains, is the logical consequences of some basic assumptions and hypothesis.

“In our case – namely the explanation of cooperative behavior – what we need now is more empirical evidence about the way real people decide when facing social dilemma situations. Very probably, it will turn out that there is not a simple recipe that fits all cases, but that depending on the particular situation and conditions the choice model changes – not to mention that the choice model itself has been subject to evolutionary forces.”

Roca adds that another important point is the relevance of social mobility, that is, the way how people establish and change their social connections. “There are quite some theoretical works available which show its potential importance, but there is much less empirical work about it.”

In terms of applications –for example, government, education and other social programs – Roca feels that it’s a bit too early to speak about practical implications. “We need more empirical evidence for the actual choice model followed by individuals concerning cooperative behavior and social relationships. An important issue here is that experiments done to date invariably show that people are heterogeneous – we all do not decide and behave the same way. On the other hand,” he continues, “it does not seem to be too utopian to dream about a well-designed future survey of a population, group or region which identifies key behavioral factors and which feeds a model with good predictive power. The implications then for designing social programs are obvious.”

An intriguing possibility would be an experiment to determine if the model is applicable to predicting behavior in biological colonies (e.g., bacteria or other single-celled organisms). Roca points out that their model would be determinative for such experiments only if those "individuals" such as single-celled eukaryotes behave in the same way the model posits. “We designed the model with the aim of studying human cooperation and I am not aware of a possible application to the world of microorganisms – but it’s something that I would be very happy to hear about.”

What they actually have in mind, he notes, is behavioral experiments with humans aimed at obtaining empirical evidence along the directions suggested by the model.” In fact, we have recently performed one experiment in the new ETH Decision Science Laboratory (DeSciL), and we’re preparing the paper for submission at this time. We’d be very glad if our paper sparks interest in the community to measure the way humans decide and choose behavior and form social connections.”

Roca’s sees future research into the decision model followed by individuals focusing more on gathering empirical evidence about how real humans decide rather than on designing more complex or more refined models. “In my opinion, from the standpoint of interdisciplinary physics, it is in this cross-feeding between experiments and modeling where the best approach to societal phenomena lies. Depending on what the experiments show we will refine or rebuild the model.”

In the larger context of game theory, risk analysis and forecasting, Roca notes that “game theory, in particular classical game theory, is based on the idea that humans optimize some kind of utility function. Our results prove that if humans behave in a different way, then the emerging collective behavior drastically changes. The implication for game theory and related disciplines is that as long as we want to have correct predictions, we need to make clear the decision model followed by individuals. In the concrete case of cooperation problems, satisficing dynamics plus social mobility theoretically seem to be key factors.”

来源：http://phys.org/news/2011-07-cooperation-competition-greed-good-.html

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

【Opinions】

[*] While (as might be expected) a range of conclusions have been reached, one factor that appears to be essential in achieving and maintaining an equitable distribution of human well-being is social cohesion – that is, a societal infrastructure characterized by high levels of cooperation and a large number of social ties between members of the population.

一系列的结论（如可能预期）已经达到，似乎是在实现和维护人类福祉的公平分配至关重要的因素之一是社会凝聚力 - 也就是说，一个社会基础设施的特点是高层次的合作并有大量人口成员之间的社会关系。

[*]The green-beard effect is a hypothesis used in evolutional biology to explain altruism between individuals and is linked to the gene-centered view of evolution which postulates that natural selection will increase the frequency of those alleles whose phenotypic effects ensure their successful replication.

绿胡须的效果是在进化生物学的一个假说来解释个体之间的利他主义和基因进化中心的观点，假设自然选择的频率将增加这些等位基因的表型效应，确保他们的成功复制。

“In my opinion,” he says, “the key factor is the decision protocol followed by individuals. We use a self-referential satisficing model” – i.e., one that determines satisfaction by comparing their payoff with their aspiration level – “which yields completely different collective behavior from the one that is obtained with optimizing or imitative behavior.

“在我看来，”他说，“关键因素是由个人决定协议。我们使用一个自我指涉满足的模型“ - 即，通过比较他们的回报与他们的抱负水平决定满意 - ”得到优化或模仿行为产生完全不同的集体行为。

Cooperation is quite difficult to explain if people are strong optimizers or imitators, but not so much if they look to be satisfied to a certain extent.

合作是相当困难去解释如果人们强烈的优化或模仿，但没有这么多，如果他们希望在一定程度上满足的。

【Reasons】

In humans, at least, both co-operation and competition are considered learned behaviors, because the human species learns to adapt to environmental pressures.

在人类，至少，双方的合作和竞争被认为是学习行为，因为人类学习以适应环境的压力。

One reason may be that if the prisoner's dilemma situation is repeated (the iterated prisoner's dilemma), it allows non-cooperation to be punished more, and cooperation to be rewarded more。

其中一个原因可能是囚犯的两难境地，如果重复（重复囚徒困境），它允许非合作予以处罚更多，合作予以奖励更多。

It has been suggested that this is one reason for the evolution of complex emotions in higher life forms, who, at least as infants, and usually thereafter, cannot survive without cooperating.

这是更高的生命形式进化的复杂情绪的一个原因，至少作为婴幼儿，通常他们以后，没有合作不能生存。

Due to specialization and division of labor, most people concentrate on a small aspect of production, trading for other products.

由于专业化和分工，大多数人集中在产品、贸易的一小方面。

【Results】

One of the main points of our model is that it can explain cooperation with absolutely no knowledge of others' behavior, so it offers a solution for this issue.

我们的模型的要点之一是，它可以解释合作完全不知道别人的行为，所以它提供了针对此问题的解决方案。

Very probably, it will turn out that there is not a simple recipe that fits all cases, but that depending on the particular situation and conditions the choice model changes – not to mention that the choice model itself has been subject to evolutionary forces.

非常有可能发现的是没有一个简单的配方适合所有的情况，但是，根据特定情况和条件选择模型变化 - 更何况，选择模型本身已经进化力量。

Consequently, if survival requires competitive behaviors, the individual will compete, and if survival requires co-operative behaviors, the individual will co-operate.

因此，如果生存需要竞争行为，个人将竞争，如果生存需要合作的行为，个人将合作。

Enlarging the investment universe to include indirect competitors leads to a broader peer universe of comparable, indirectly competing companies.

扩大投资领域包括间接的竞争者，导致到一个更广阔的同行不相上下，间接竞争的公司。

【Examples】

…a key finding that obviates the variables typically considered in similar research, including greenbeard effects (which would allow subjects to distinguish favorable neighborhoods from unfavorable ones in advance) along with other mechanisms that are known to support cooperation, such as future forecasts, reputation, or punishment.

一个关键的发现，避免类似的研究，包括greenbeard效果（这允许提前来区分有利环境与不利的环境）通常认为的变量沿与其他已知的支持合作，如未来的预测，声誉或处罚机制。

In terms of applications –for example, government, education and other social programs – Roca feels that it’s a bit too early to speak about practical implications.

在应用方面，例如，政府，教育等社会事业 - 罗卡认为这是一个有点太早谈论实际影响。

Roots of human cooperation may be found in empathy. For example, when several infants are in a room, and one of them starts crying, others start crying too.

换位思考可能会发现在人类合作的根源。例如，当数名婴儿是在一个房间里，其中一人开始哭泣，有人开始哭了。

For instance, most plants compete for higher spots on trees to receive more sunlight.

譬如大多数植物争夺高点，以获得更多的阳光。

【Comparisons】

At the same time, however, individual self-interest appears to be inversely related to – and indeed often leads to a breakdown of – social cohesion. As researchers in Switzerland have recently found, however, a moderate level of greed can actually establish a framework in which cooperation and agglomeration (grouping) flourish and societal cohesion prevails.

然而，与此同时，个人的自利似乎是成反比关系 - 而事实上往往导致的崩溃 - 社会凝聚力。然而，由于在瑞士的研究人员最近发现，一个中等水平的贪婪实际上可以建立一个框架，使合作和集聚（分组）的蓬勃发展和社会凝聚力为准。

People, by observing their own performance instead of others' profits and behavior, can behave cooperatively in an, evolutionarily speaking, successful way.

人通过观察自己的表现，而不是别人的利润和行为，可以表现在协同进化来说，成功的方式。

This is of course compatible with the fact that in some particular cases greenbeard effects may exist, and that they can have a role in supporting cooperative behavior – but they do not have to be widespread.

这是当然兼容的事实，在某些特定的情况下，可能存在greenbeard效果，他们可以有一个作用在支持合作行为 - 但他们没有很普遍。

…animals compete over water supplies, food, mates, and other biological resources. Humans compete usually for food and mates, though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth, prestige, and fame.

动物竞争供水，食品，同伴，和其他生物资源。通常人类争夺食物和配偶，但这些需求得到满足时深的争斗经常出现过度追求财富，声望和名气。

【Suggestions】

Structured methods of collaboration encourage introspection of behavior and communication.

结构化的协作方式鼓励自我反省的行为和沟通。

… claim that this led to changes in learning and teaching design in which students were encouraged to share their ways of doing mathematics, history, science, with each other.

…鼓励学生们分享他们学习数学、历史、科学的方式。

Educational Collaborative Partnerships are established by mutual agreement between two or more parties to work together on projects and activities that will enhance the quality of education for students while improving skills critical to success in the workplace.

建立教育合作伙伴关系，通过相互之间的协议，两方或多方共同努力，项目和活动，这将提高学生的教育质量，同时提高技能，这是在职场取得成功的关键。

It is suggested that many large companies develop enterprise collaboration strategies and standardizing on a collaboration platform to allow their employees, customers and partners to intelligently connect and interact.

许多大公司都应该开发企业合作战略和标准化协作平台，让员工，客户和合作伙伴能智能连接和互动。