Table of Contents
The Need to Belong
Passage
No one likes to feel left out, ignored by colleagues at meetings or not be invited to the big party that everyone is talking about. Imagine not being part of a joke, or worse still, if the joke is on you. For most people, living the life of an outsider can have a negative effect on self-esteem and mood. It can even lead to negative behaviour. The pull to belong is extremely strong. Scientists believe that, in part, there is an evolutionary explanation for why we have this need to belong.
In the past, people hunted and cooked together in tribes and each member of the group would be assigned a role. As each member had a purpose, it meant that in the event of the loss of one person, the group as a whole would suffer. For this reason, they had a vested interest in protecting each other. To our prehistoric ancestors, membership of a group meant the difference between survival and death. Those who were rejected and excluded from joining a group had to fend for themselves and struggled to stay alive alone in the wild.
Apart from protection, being part of a group also ensured that genes could be passed onto future generations. Although it is very different now from the way our primitive ancestors lived, our brains have not had time to evolve to fit today’s lifestyles. In this day and age, it is no longer a matter of survival to be affiliated to a tribe or group, but the evolutionary instinct to find protection still lingers.
This inherent feeling of security that comes with being part of a group is powerful enough to make people employ both conscious and unconscious strategies to gain membership. One obvious way people try to be accepted into a group is self-presentation, which is the act of portraying yourself in the best possible light An individual will attempt to outwardly display the characteristics which are important to the group’s advancement At the same time, they will conceal any parts of their personality that may be seen as undesirable or not useful to a group.
An example of self-presentation is the job application process. A candidate applying for a job will promote themselves as motivated, but is likely to hide the fact that they are disorganised. These conscious tactics that people use are not a surprise to anyone, but we also use other strategies unknowingly.
Psychologists Jessica Larkin, Tanya Chartrand and Robert Arkin suggested that people often resort to automatic mimicry to gain affiliation into groups, much like our primitive ancestors used to do. Before humans had the ability to speak, physical imitation was a method of begging for a place in the group. Most will be unaware they are doing it. Larkin and her co-workers decided to test this hypothesis.
They took a group of student volunteers and had them play a game called Cyberball, a ball tossing arcade game that resembled American football. The volunteers were led to believe they were all playing against each other, but in actual fact they were not. The computer was manipulating the game by passing the ball to some volunteers and excluding others.
The ‘accepted and ‘rejected students were then asked if they enjoyed the game and about their opinions of the other players. Participants were then put alone in a room and their natural foot movements were filmed. Then a female entered the room under the pretence of conducting a fake photo description task. The female deliberately moved her foot during the task, but not in a way that would be noticeable to the volunteer. It turned out that the rejected students mimicked the female’s foot movements the most This revealed that after exclusion, people will automatically mimic to affiliate with someone new.
However, Larkin and her colleagues wanted to go further.They believed that more often than not, in the real world, we actually know the people that reject us. How do we behave towards the group that we know has excluded us? The experiment was repeated with this question in mind. In the second experiment, only female volunteers played the Cyberball game, during which they experienced rejection by either men or women.Then each volunteer did the fake photo task, but this time with a man and then a woman.
The results clearly indicated that the female students that felt rejected would unconsciously make more of an effort to mimic members of their own in-group – that is, other women – rather than men. This deep-wired instinct to mimic was not only directed towards random people, as initially thought, but targeted to specific groups, the particular group that did the rejecting in the first place.
To some, it is inconceivable why people will go to great lengths to be accepted into one of life’s social groups or clubs, enduring rejection and sometimes humiliation in order to be accepted. You only have to look at college campuses, which are notorious for strict initiations inflicted on candidates desperately seeking membership. But it happens and will continue to happen, because the desire to belong is a very powerful force and a fundamental part of human nature.
Questions
Questions 1-5
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Modern man’s basic need to belong to clubs and groups dates back to early history. Each person within the group had a 1…………………. to play and was considered integral to the entire group’s dynamics and success. For an individual, belonging to a group could affect their chances of 2……………….. In those times, few could avoid death living alone in 3………………… . Living with other humans offered 4………………….. from danger. Staying in a group also meant that 5……………………………. could be passed down to descendants.
Questions 6-10
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
THE PROCEDURE FOR LARKIN’S EXPERIMENT
6. Volunteers believed they were playing a computer game, similar to ……………………….
7. The computer was controlling the gameplay, ………………………….. to some and not others.
8. The volunteers gave their ……………………………… after the game.
9. Each volunteer first sat on their own in a room and had their foot movements ………………………………….
10. The volunteer took part in a task with a woman who …………………………………. on purpose.
Questions 11-13
Choose the correct letter A,B,C or D.
11. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. one experts view on evolution
B. the consequences of being excluded
C. being made fun of by the people around you
D. a social event that people are eagerly awaiting
12. According to the article, which method do people consciously use to obtain membership into their chosen group?
A. They tell the group they are strongly motivated.
B. They convey the best parts of their personality to the group.
C. They show how the group will be important to their lives.
D. They alter aspects of their personality to suit others.
13. The writer’s main purpose in writing this article is to
A. explain how people feel when they face rejection.
B. encourage people to go it alone and not be part of a group.
C. show the unconscious drive behind the need to belong.
D. compare how the modern lifestyle is different to the past.
Answers
Below are the answers, key words and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage The Need to Belong (Passage 1, Questions 1–13).
Questions 1–5: Summary Completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
1. Each person within the group had a __ to play …
Answer: role
Key words: each person, to play, integral to the group
Explanation: “people hunted and cooked together in tribes and each member of the group would be assigned a role.” “Assigned a role” gives the answer.
Answer: role
2. … belonging to a group could affect their chances of __ .
Answer: survival
Key words: chances of, belonging to a group
Explanation: “To our prehistoric ancestors, membership of a group meant the difference between survival and death.” Membership affecting the difference between survival and death matches “chances of survival.”
difference between survival and death = chances of survival.
Answer: survival
3. … few could avoid death living alone in __ .
Answer: the wild
Key words: avoid death, living alone
Explanation: “Those who were rejected … had to fend for themselves and struggled to stay alive alone in the wild.” “Alone in the wild” gives the answer.
struggled to stay alive alone = few could avoid death living alone.
Answer: the wild
4. Living with other humans offered __ from danger.
Answer: protection
Key words: living with other humans, from danger
Explanation: “they had a vested interest in protecting each other” and “Apart from protection, being part of a group also …” Group membership offered protection from danger.
protecting each other = protection from danger.
Answer: protection
5. Staying in a group also meant that __ could be passed down to descendants.
Answer: genes
Key words: passed down, descendants
Explanation: “being part of a group also ensured that genes could be passed on to future generations.” “Future generations” = descendants.
passed on to future generations = passed down to descendants.
Answer: genes
Questions 6–10: Flow-Chart Completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS) — Larkin’s Experiment
6. Volunteers believed they were playing a computer game, similar to __ .
Answer: American football
Key words: computer game, similar to
Explanation: “a game called Cyberball, a ball-tossing arcade game that resembled American football.” “Resembled” = similar to.
resembled = similar to.
Answer: American football
7. The computer was controlling the gameplay, __ to some and not others.
Answer: passing the ball
Key words: computer, controlling, some and not others
Explanation: “The computer was manipulating the game by passing the ball to some volunteers and excluding others.“
manipulating = controlling.
Answer: passing the ball
8. The volunteers gave their __ after the game.
Answer: opinions
Key words: after the game, gave their
Explanation: “The ‘accepted’ and ‘rejected’ students were then asked if they enjoyed the game and about their opinions of the other players.“
Answer: opinions
9. Each volunteer first sat on their own in a room and had their foot movements __ .
Answer: filmed
Key words: on their own, foot movements
Explanation: “Participants were then put alone in a room and their natural foot movements were filmed.“
put alone = sat on their own.
Answer: filmed
10. The volunteer took part in a task with a woman who __ on purpose.
Answer: moved her foot
Key words: task with a woman, on purpose
Explanation: “The female deliberately moved her foot during the task.” “Deliberately” = on purpose.
deliberately = on purpose.
Answer: moved her foot
Questions 11–13: Multiple Choice
11. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the first paragraph?
Answer: A — one expert’s view on evolution.
Key words: NOT mentioned, first paragraph
Explanation: The first paragraph mentions being ignored/excluded (B), the joke being on you (C), and the big party everyone awaits (D). It only says “Scientists believe … there is an evolutionary explanation” in general — no single expert’s view is given, so A is not mentioned.
Answer: A
12. Which method do people consciously use to obtain membership into their chosen group?
Answer: B — They convey the best parts of their personality to the group.
Key words: consciously, method, membership
Explanation: “self-presentation, which is the act of portraying yourself in the best possible light … display the characteristics which are important … conceal any parts … undesirable.” Showing your best characteristics matches B. (D describes mimicry, which is unconscious.)
portraying yourself in the best possible light = convey the best parts of your personality.
Answer: B
13. The writer’s main purpose in writing this article is to
Answer: C — show the unconscious drive behind the need to belong.
Key words: main purpose
Explanation: The article explains the evolutionary roots of belonging and focuses on unconscious strategies like automatic mimicry, concluding that “the desire to belong is a very powerful force and a fundamental part of human nature.” This matches showing the unconscious drive to belong.
automatic mimicry / powerful force = unconscious drive behind the need to belong.
Answer: C
| Answer Key (Quick Reference) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
| 1 | role | 8 | opinions |
| 2 | survival | 9 | filmed |
| 3 | the wild | 10 | moved her foot |
| 4 | protection | 11 | A |
| 5 | genes | 12 | B |
| 6 | American football | 13 | C |
| 7 | passing the ball | ||
Cambridge IELTS 1-21 Reading test solutions
