After you: the psychology of queues and how to beat them

After you: the psychology of queues and how to beat them

I Study the active vocabulary and focus on Ukrainian equivalents of English words.

queue черга

chaotic хаотичний

feed живити

anxiety занепокоєння

in the back of the queue в хвості черги

loads велика кількість

devoted to присвячений

occur виникати

demand попит

exceed перевищувати

supply пропозиція

wind up накручувати, дратувати

desire бажання

fairness справедливість

first come, first served перший прийшов - перший отримав

upset засмучений

transgress порушувати

valuable цінний

steal вкрасти

oven піч

meter лічильник (на парковці)

ingrained вкорінений

fair play гра за правилами

override переважувати

duration тривалість

serpentine який звивається

multiple числений

ahead попереду

ultimate крайній

annual щорічний

guide  керівництво

queue jumping порушення порядку черги, спроба пройти поза чергою

acceptable прийнятний

tolerate терпіти

irritated роздратований

equally однаково

police підтримувати порядок

directly безпосередньо

affect впливати

psychologist психолог

fan out розділитися

confront протистояти

tut висловлювати незадоволення

sigh зітхати

seethe кипіти

butt висовуватися

ground грунтуватися

browse переглядати

quit кидати

doughnut пончик

average середній

backfire мати зворотній ефект, мати ефект протилежний очікуваному

digital цифровий

read-out зчитування

anticipated очікуваний

precise точний

silver lining позитивний бік

desirable бажаний

willing охочий

advantage перевага

item позиція

transaction фінансова операція

unpredictable непередбачуваний

right-handed правша

inbuilt вбудований

bias упередження

equal однаковий

in clear view на виду

cashier касир

get to someone дістати когось

II Vocabulary focus. Study the words and  word combinations, check your understanding using flashcards, practise their translation, spelling. Check your knowledge in the test. Play matching vocabulary game (match words to their translations to make cards disappear)  and save the planetfrom asteroids by typing in correct translation of the words.

III Answer the questions using words and word combinations from Task 1

1 Where do you queue most often? How long do you spend in queues?

2 How do you feel about queueing? What are your emotions while you are in the queue?

3 Where are the longest queues in your city? Why do people have to wait in the queues?

4 What do you do when you have to stand in a queue to pass the time (reading, talking, etc.)?

5 Do people in your city jump queues? If yes, who does it most often?

6 Where do people jump queues most often (in supermarkets, in cinemas, etc.)?

7 How do you react when you see someone jumping your queue? How do other people behave? Do people confront queue jumpers?

IV Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.

Young; deepest; instinct; ingrained; simplification; angry; essentially; feeling; valuable; supply; queue; minutes; served; occurs; anger; stealing; fishes; queue; friendliness; gradient; demand; complicated; transport; in front of; situations; drops; minutes; simple; fairness; first; pride; key; fairness; override; reason; oven; shops; stressful; pushes; hourly; anxieties;

why; upset

  

Queues. At the 1)_______, in your car, on public 2)_______, even to get into restaurants. They’re 3)_______. Sometimes chaotic. And they feed our 4)_______national  5)_______.

-        And the UK is going to be in the back of the 6)_______.

There’s loads of 7)_______thinking devoted to queueing, but actually it’s pretty 8)_______.

-        Queueing 9)_______when the real​-​time 10)_______for service exceeds the real-time 11)_______for service.

So why do we 12)_______? And 13)_______does it wind us up so much? Well, 14)_______it comes down to a human desire for 15)_______and a simple rule of 16)_______come, first 17)_______.

-        Queues are almost micro-social 18)_______; everybody seems to get 19)_______if those rules are transgressed… So for example if somebody 20)_______in at the head of a queue, most people will be actually quite 21)_______about that.

-        And the 22)_______people get angry is that as they’re thinking: “Oh, you think your 23)_______of life are more 24)_______than my minutes of life. So you’re 25)_______some of my minutes of life, so I have to spend in the queue longer because you’re going 26)___  __  __ me.

- Is everyone you cut in front of an …?

- I have children in the car.

- I got a cake in the 27)_______. He’s got three 28)_______left on the meter. She’s got a lunch meeting.

 29)_______is something deeply 30)_______in us. Studies show that even from a very 31)_______age, we have a natural 32)_______for fair play. And this 33)_______is so strong, that it can pretty much 34)_______everything else.

V Watch the video again and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

-        People view fairness/transgress/success in queueing as more potent/present/important than the duration/connection/affection of the wait. Research/researched/reach has shown that in fast-food restrooms/restaurants/chain customers would prefer a quid/few/queue which is single serpentine, guaranteed/guarantor/warrant first come first served that has twice the several/average/leverage wait than a fast-food restaurant which has parallel multiple queues where chances/changes/alliances are somebody who comes into the restaurant after you get earned/server/served before you.

-        ​I was in line ahead/forehead/behead of him! I was ahead of him!

-        Yeah, well you shouldn’t have changed wine/vine/line.

 Pushing in, or cutting/butting/chatting the line is the ultimate no-no, and in some places this is taken very serious/seriously/severity. The Wimbledon tennis gamer/championship/champion in London provides an annual exempt/example/sample of British queueing at its best. In phase/race/case anyone’s forgotten their banners/manners/mannerism, visitors are presented with a 29-page guide/guild/kite on how to do it. And a queueing part/cord/card with the most important rule of all: Queue jumping/humping/lumping is not exception/acceptable/excellence and will not be tolerated/tolerant/tolerance.

- Stretch us to the front.

- No cutting!

-        All right dudes, chill! We’ll wait.

 A study of U2 fans found that they were just as irritated/inflated/rated by people cutting in behold/hindered/behind them as cutting in in front. Which suggests/suggestion/infests that these long queues worked as civilian/society/social systems, just like societies do.

-        Generally, people don’t rare/care/beware that someone is cutting into the queue behind them, but in the U2 queue they actually cared equally/folly/total, which suggests that these wrongly/tong/long queues work as social systems/systematically/stems just like societies do. In other words, the social norms/forms/normally in this queue seemed to be that everything/average/everyone was policing the queue even if it didn’t directly affect/effective/affection themselves. 

Another study in the 1980s was led by the psychology/physiologist/psychologist Stanley Milgram. He instructed his students/pupil/studies to fan out across New York City, and push into queues between the three/third/bird and fourth person. Surprisingly only 10% of queue-jumpers were confronted/affront/affronting and thrown out of the line. Most of us will tut and signature/signing/sigh and seethe all right. But we won’t actually do anything/everyone/anyone.

 - Don’t butt!

VI Watch the video and fill in the gaps in the text.

So we 1)_______ that queueing is grounded in 2)_______. But that doesn’t mean we have to 3)_______ it. And that can definitely be a 4)_______ if you’re trying to sell 5)_______ stuff.

-        Most customers 6)_______ the last thing that happened to them. They might spend an hour and a half 7)_______ through a shop having an absolutely 8)_______ time. But then they will take away the 9)_______ experience of five seconds in the 10)_______.

Businesses know all this and, working with 11)_______, they’ve developed ways to 12)_______ you quitting and going elsewhere. Krispy Kreme let you watch their 13)_______ being made in a kind of viewing gallery behind the glass. Disneyland shows you average waiting 14)_______ to help you feel more in 15)_______. But too much information can backfire. 

-        We’ve done 16)_______ in Boston with my students in a 17)_______ where we had a digital read-out of the anticipated wait and it was correct to the nearest 18)_______. And what happened is that it 19)_______ people’s attention on the duration of the wait.

The 20)_______ was so precise, the waiting was all people could think about.  And even though long 21)_______ are a massive pain, there is a silver lining - for businesses at least. Long queues mean your 22)_______ is highly desirable. And studies have shown, that once you are in the 23)_______ the longer it gets, the more you’re willing to 24)_______.

 But while psychology can be used 25)_______ you to keep you in a queue, there are definitely 26)_______ to turn it to your advantage as well. So what is the 27)_______ way to queue? Choose your line 28)_______. One 29)_______ with loads of items will probably be 30)_______ than lots of people with only a few 31)_______. Scanning multiple items is quick, it’s all the other parts of the 32)_______ that can be unpredictable. If you have a choice of left or 33)_______, go left. Studies show most 34)_______, being 35)_______, have an inbuilt bias to turn right if all other things are 36)_______. So try turning left instead. Pick a queue in clear 37)_______ of the cashier.

If the 38)_______ can see how their work is shortening the 39)_______, they tend to work 40)_______. But whatever you do, stay calm, don’t let the queue 41)_______ to you.

VII Watch the video and read the text above. Say if the statements below are true or false. Correct the false statements.

1 Most queues are well-organised and people are happy to wait.

2 Political leaders can use queues to illustrate their ideas of leaving other nations behind.

3 People queue because they believe in fairness.

4 In social situations rules are not important and can easily be transgressed.

5 Sometimes people don’t value other people’s time.

6 People will always choose multiple queues in fast-food restaurants because they are more organized.

7 At Wimbledon queueing is very important and there are special rules of waiting in lines.

8 People are equally irritated if someone cuts in front of them or behind them.

9 Experiments show that queue-jumpers are always confronted.

10 People need to focus on something in the queue so some shops create displays for the waiting customers.

11 It’s always a good idea to know the exact time left to wait.

12 In supermarkets most people choose queues to their left.

13 Cashier should see the end of the queue to work longer.

14 There is nothing good for the business when clients queue in the shop.

15 People tend to quit long queues but spend money if the queue is short.

VIII Watch all the parts of the video and answer the questions.

1 Where con we find queues?

2 Why do people queue?

3 What is the psychological reason for queueing?

4 How are queues and fair play connected?

5 How do people in a queue feel if someone pushes in front of them? Do they do anything?

6 Why do people in fast-food restaurants prefer single queues?

7 What is more important in a queue: time of wait or fairness?

8 What is first come first served principle?

9 What is special about U2 fans waiting in queues?

10 How are queues similar to or different from social situations?

11 What can businesses do to make people’s time in queues more enjoyable? Can you remember any examples?

12 Why knowing the exact time of waiting sometimes backfire?

13 When are people more likely to spend money: when they have to wait in a long or a short queue?

14 What is the best way to choose a queue in a supermarket?

15 What country is used as an example of extreme queueing rules in the video?

IX OVER TO YOU. Are there any rules or regulation about queueing in your country (thing you can do in the queue (can you smoke), distance between people in the queue, leaving the queue, etc.)? What are they? Prepare a short talk (2 minutes) to inform your friend or colleague from abroad about queueing culture in your country.