It's generally believed that people act the way they do because of their personalities and attitudes. They recycle their garbage because they care about the environment. They pay $5 for a caramel brulee latte because they like expensive coffee drinks.

    It's undeniable that behavior comes from our inner dispositions（性情）,but in many instances we also draw inferences about who we are,as suggested by the social psychologist Daryl Bern,by observing our own behavior.We can be strangers to ourselves.If we knew our own minds,why would we need to guess what our preferences are from our behavior?If our minds were an open book,we would know exactly how much we care about the environment or like lattes.Actually,we often need to look to our behavior to figure out who we are.

    Moreover,we don't just use our behavior to learn about our particular types of character—we infer characters that weren't there before.Our behavior is often shaped by little pressures around us,which we fail to recognize.Maybe we recycle because our wives and neighbors would disapprove if we didn't.Maybe we buy lattes in order to impress the people around us.We should not mistakenly believe that we always behave as a result of some inner disposition.

    Whatever pressures there can be or inferences one can make,people become what they do,though it may not be in compliance（符合）with their true desires.Therefore,we should all bear in mind Kurt Vonnegut's advice:"We are what we pretend to be,so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

    Everybody hates it, but everybody does it. A recent report said that 40%of Americans hate tipping. In America alone, tipping is a $ 16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting politely ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The common opinion in the past was that tips both rewarded the efforts of good service and reduced uncomfortable feelings of inequality. And also, tipping makes for closer relations. It went without saying that the better the service, the bigger the tip.

    But according to a new research from Cornell University, tips no longer serve any useful function. The paper analyzes numbers they got from 2,547 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The connection between larger tips and better service was very weak. Only a tiny part of the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service.

    Tipping is better explained, by culture than by the money people spend. In America, the custom came into being a long time ago. It is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In New York restaurants, failing to tip at least 15% could well mean dissatisfaction from the customers. Hairdressers can expect to get l5%-20%, and the man who delivers your fast food $ 2. In Europe, tipping is less common. In many restaurants the amount of tip is decided by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all. Only a few have really taken to tipping. According to Michael Lynn, the Cornell papers' author, countries in which people are more social or outgoing tend to tip more. Tipping may reduce anxiety about being served by strangers. And Mr. Lynn says, “In America, where people are expressive and eager to mix up with others, tipping is about social approval. If you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off.”

    For many, music is as important to the human experience as eating and breathing. We hear music everywhere—at home, the gym, parties and stores. But what kind of music do we prefer to listen to, and when and why do our musical preferences change?

    The relationship between the change of seasons and musical preferences was the focus of a study led by psychologist Terry Pettijohn. He and his team based their research on a previous study that examined the relationship between popular music preferences and the Environmental Security Hypothesis(假设). The results showed that over time, when social and financial conditions were more risky, the songs of the year that were slower, longer, more comforting and serious were most popular. And during periods in which social and financial conditions were generally stable, the result was opposite.

    Building on these findings, Pettijohn and his team wondered if the Hypothesis could also be applied to the change of seasons. For college students, the participants in this study, autumn begins at the start of the school year. Gone are the carefree days of summer, when school is out. Winter means colder temperatures, shorter days, and, in many places in the country, snow. Spring, however, is a different story. It represents a fresh start and when clocks spring forward, we gain an extra hour of daylight. As students walk into summer, they're absorbed in the sunshine and social activities—and enjoy a break from school.

    But do changing seasonal conditions influence musical preferences? To answer this question, the researchers designed two studies. What did they find? Both groups of college students favored more serious music during the seasons of fall and winter, and more active and energetic music during the spring and summer seasons. And these findings, Pettijohn argues, have practical significances.

    It's not easy being a teenager— nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you'll still be there for him when he needs you.

    Expect a lot from your child, just not everything. Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving; consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don't insist he tell you what's on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he'll clam up. Instead, let him attempt to solve things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you're always there for him if he seeks advice or help. Show respect for your teenager's privacy (隐私). Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversations.

    Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family's telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for 15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation (节制). Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job.

    Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines' Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones, But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just about one thing-shopping. And that can be a big problem.

    "In a way, over -consumption(过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems" Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It's hel on the day, which is known as Black Fridny -a famous shopping day in the US and Canada. You can see the irony(讽刺)here.

    Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever, It's just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean-seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.

     The latest example is the Singles' Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record, But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters. "Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste." And it was reported that last year the Singles' Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins dictionary has also just named "single-use" its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there're too many things we tow out after only using them once.

    So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it's not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun "with people we care about" rather than wasting money on useless things.

    For many of us, summertime means road trips to the beach or mountains, or at the very least some additional dust and bird poop on the exterior of our vehicles. The extra dirt leads us to do one of two things: wash our car in the driveway or head to the car wash. But which choice is better for the environment?

    The main concerns with either choice are the amount of fresh water being used and the types of chemicals used to remove the dirt. Both of these concerns can be closely monitored when washing the car at home, says Katy Gresh, spokeswoman for the Southwest Region of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. She advises car owners to put aside a set amount of water for the entire wash. "It's just like brushing your teeth," she says, "You don't want to leave the water running of more than you need for the job." But even following this advice comes with an environmental risk: Washing your car in the driveway or street flushes the dirty water into storm drains.

    John Schombert, executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather, his organization works to educate the public about storm sewers (下水道) and water runoff, keeping this untreated water from entering the Allegheny region's waterways. "We ask people to, consider washing their cars on lawns or other permeable (透水的) surfaces where the water gets absorbed," Schombert says. "Soil can break down and help filter (过滤) those things," Schombert says. "Storm sewers are not made for waste disposal." Even when car owners use natural soaps to wash their cars, which Schombert says are probably ineffective at breaking down grease anyway.

    The commercial car wash down the street knows full well the rules regarding wastewater in storm sewers. According to the International Carwash Association (ICA), professional car washes must use water reclamation systems. These mandated processes not only keep the dirty water out of storm sewers and regular water treatment systems, but they also work to reduce water usage at commercial facilities.