리딩 지문 (읽는 시간 45초)

 

Groupthink
One process by which groups may make bad or irrational decisions is known as groupthink. Individual members of a group attempt to conform their opinions to what they believe to be the group consensus even though the result may be negative. There are many reasons why groupthink happens. These include the desire to be liked, fear of losing a job, or even not wanting to be the one employee delaying a decision that seems inevitable. These kinds of implicit pressures to conform lead group members to ultimately make decisions that each, by himself or herself, might normally not make.

 

리스닝 듣기



 

말하기 준비 시간: 30초
말하기 녹음 시간: 1분

 

리스닝 스크립트

So, let me tell you about my own experience with this when I was working for a computer company a couple of years ago.
So, one day a coworker and I suggested we should give our computers a design makeover. Make them look more up-to-date. Market researches were showing that new customers said they would be more interested in buying our computers if they looked cooler. Our technology was advanced but the outside design looked really old-fashioned.
At first, more than half of the group supported us. There were a few senior managers there though who didn’t support the design change. One of the senior managers said, “Our focus has always been on technology. Changing the look is an unnecessary cost.” Almost immediately, some of our supporters changed their minds. Even my coworker changed his mind. When I asked him why after the meeting, he told me he didn’t want to make a bad impression on the senior managers. He thought that disagreeing with them might jeopardize his chances of getting a promotion by not looking like a team player.
What about me? I hate to admit it, but after a few hours of discussion I started wondering if it was worth everyone’s time to argue about this. As more people sided with the senior management, I started to feel like I was the only one holding up the vote. Everyone else seemed to think change wasn’t necessary so I voted against my own idea in the end. So we unanimously decided to stay with the current old looking design. But this decision ended up costing us a lot of money. That same year, our competitor came out with a new design that attracted some of our customers and prevented us from profiting on potential new customers.

 

30점을 위한 해설

리딩 요약
리딩 지문의 주제어: Groupthink (집단 사고)
Groupthink의 정의 – One process by which groups may make bad or irrational decisions is known as groupthink (그룹이 나쁘거나 비이성적인 결정을 할 수 있는 과정이 groupthink임)

 

(강의 정리)
The professor was working for a computer company a couple of years ago. (교수는 몇 년 전에 컴퓨터 회사에서 일했음)
The professor and a coworker suggested their computers a design makeover because new customers would more interested in buying their computers if the computers looked cooler. (교수와 회사 동료가 컴퓨터 디자인 변경을 제안했음. 왜냐하면 컴퓨터가 더 멋있게 보이면 소비자가 더 관심을 가질 것이기 때문)
At first, many members of the group supported the idea but one of the senior managers opposed, saying that changing the look cost the company unnecessarily. (처음엔 많은 사람들이 그 생각을 지지했지만 한 상사 매니저가 비용이 많이 들어서 불필요하다고 반대했음)

Then, the supporters started to change their minds because they did not want to give a bad impression to the senior manager. (그러자 많은 지지자들은 그 매니저에게 나쁜 인상을 주지 않기 위해서 그들의 생각을 바꿨음)

Finally, the professor voted against his own idea. (마침내 교수도 자신의 아이디어에 반대표를 던졌음)

But this decision turned out to be a bad one because that same year, a competitor of the company the professor worked at came out with a new design that attracted some of customers from the professor’s company. (그러나 이 결정은 잘못된 것으로 판명되었는데, 왜냐하면 같은 해에 경쟁 회사에서 새로운 디자인을 가지고 나와서 교수의 회사 고객 일부가 그 경쟁사 제품에 매력을 느꼈기 때문)

 

(샘플 답안)
The reading passage discusses the phenomenon of groupthink, wherein groups collectively brainstorm or share ideas, sometimes leading to poor or irrational decisions.
In the accompanying lecture, a professor illustrates this concept with a personal anecdote from his time working for a computer company. The professor and a coworker proposed a new design for their computers, believing it would attract more customers. Initially, many group members supported the idea. However, a senior manager voiced opposition, citing unnecessary costs. Subsequently, the supporters began to reconsider their stance to avoid discord with the senior manager. Unfortunately, this decision proved detrimental as a competitor introduced a new design that year, enticing customers away from the professor’s company.
This example highlights how group dynamics, particularly the desire for consensus and conformity, can lead to suboptimal outcomes.