CAT 2018 Slot 1 VARC Question & Solution
Passage
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Economists have spent most of the 20th century ignoring psychology, positive or otherwise. But today there is a great deal of emphasis on how happiness can shape global economies, or — on a smaller scale — successful business practice. This is driven, in part, by a trend in "measuring" positive emotions, mostly so they can be optimized. Neuroscientists, for example, claim to be able to locate specific emotions, such as happiness or disappointment, in particular areas of the brain. Wearable technologies, such as Spire, offer data-driven advice on how to reduce stress.
We are no longer just dealing with "happiness" in a philosophical or romantic sense — it has become something that can be monitored and measured, including by our behavior, use of social media and bodily indicators such as pulse rate and facial expressions.
There is nothing automatically sinister about this trend. But it is disquieting that the businesses and experts driving the quantification of happiness claim to have our best interests at heart, often concealing their own agendas in the process. In the workplace, happy workers are viewed as a "win-win." Work becomes more pleasant, and employees, more productive. But this is now being pursued through the use of performance-evaluating wearable technology, such as Humanyze or Virgin Pulse, both of which monitor physical signs of stress and activity toward the goal of increasing productivity.
Cities such as Dubai, which has pledged to become the "happiest city in the world," dream up ever-more elaborate and intrusive ways of collecting data on well-being — to the point where there is now talk of using CCTV cameras to monitor facial expressions in public spaces. New ways of detecting emotions are hitting the market all the time: One company, Beyond Verbal, aims to calculate moods conveyed in a phone conversation, potentially without the knowledge of at least one of the participants. And Facebook [has] demonstrated . . . that it could influence our emotions through tweaking our news feeds — opening the door to ever-more targeted manipulation in advertising and influence.
As the science grows more sophisticated and technologies become more intimate with our thoughts and bodies, a clear trend is emerging. Where happiness indicators were once used as a basis to reform society, challenging the obsession with money that G.D.P. measurement entrenches, they are increasingly used as a basis to transform or discipline individuals.
Happiness becomes a personal project, that each of us must now work on, like going to the gym. Since the 1970s, depression has come to be viewed as a cognitive or neurological defect in the individual, and never a consequence of circumstances. All of this simply escalates the sense of responsibility each of us feels for our own feelings, and with it, the sense of failure when things go badly. A society that deliberately removed certain sources of misery, such as precarious and exploitative employment, may well be a happier one. But we won't get there by making this single, often fleeting emotion, the over-arching goal.
Question 1
From the passage we can infer that the author would like economists to:
Solution:
We can infer that the author adopts a cautionary tone in the passage. He warns that quantification of happiness might be useful in certain contexts but making measuring happiness the primary goal can lead to unwanted consequences. He warns that happiness will become a personal project if we take the metrics too seriously. Therefore, the author is likely to recommend economists to incorporate the research findings cautiously and hence, option B is the right answer.
Question 2
According to the author, wearable technologies and social media are contributing most to:
Solution:
In the penultimate paragraph, the author mentions "Where happiness indicators were once used as a basis to reform society, challenging the obsession with money that G.D.P. measurement entrenches, they are increasingly used as a basis to transform or discipline individuals". He states that wearable technologies shift the onus on the person for his depression. In the last paragraph, the author mentions how these technologies are helping in disciplining individuals to be happy rather than addressing the cause of depression. Therefore, option C is the right answer.
Question 3
In the author’s opinion, the shift in thinking in the 1970s:
Solution:
In the last paragraph, the author mentions that since 1970s, depression is viewed as the defect of the individual rather than as the effect of his circumstances. He feels that this approach puts the person under pressure since being depressed is being viewed as the fault of the individual. The author does not view the shift in a positive light. Only option C captures the fact that the development was a detrimental step and hence, option C is the right answer.
Question 4
The author’s view would be undermined by which of the following research findings?
Solution:
The primary intention of the author is to warn about the trend of collecting data to monitor emotions and in turn promote happiness as an overarching goal. He says that such a practice will lead to adoption of intrusive methods and make happiness a personal project to be worked on. If it is proved that less data is being collected than earlier, it will weaken the very basis of the author's arguments.
Options B and C indicate a trend that the author is warning about. Therefore, we can eliminate these 2 options.
Option D states that individuals worldwide are using technologies to monitor their well-being. The author's argument is not that such technologies should not be used. He just states that proliferation of such technologies, especially when used by external parties like nations and corporations, might put people under greater stress. Therefore, we can eliminate option D as well.
Option A states that stakeholders are moving away from collecting data. This statement goes against the warning issued by the author. Therefore, option A will undermine the author's arguments the most and hence, option A is the right answer.
Question 5
According to the author, Dubai:
Solution:
The author does not consider happiness indicators to be the gold standard of happiness. Therefore, we cannot say that Dubai is on its way to becoming one of the happiest cities in the world just because it tries to discipline its citizens to be happy.
Nowhere has it been mentioned that Dubai collaborates with Facebook or incentivises companies that promote worker welfare.
'Cities such as Dubai, which has pledged to become the "happiest city in the world," dream up ever-more elaborate and intrusive ways of collecting data on well-being — to the point where there is now talk of using CCTV cameras to monitor facial expressions in public spaces'.
We can infer that Dubai comes up with new intrusive ways of collecting data on the well-being of its citizens. Therefore, option B is the right answer.