CAT 2018 Slot 2 — VARC Question 31
The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
The early optimism about sport's deterrent effects on delinquency was premature as researchers failed to find any consistent relationships between sports participation and deviance. As the initial studies were based upon cross-sectional data and the effects captured were short-term, it was problematic to test and verify the temporal sequencing of events suggested by the deterrence theory. The correlation between sport and delinquency could not be disentangled from class and cultural variables known. Choosing individuals to play sports in the first place was problematic, which became more acute in the subsequent decades as researchers began to document just how closely sports participation was linked to social class indicators.
Answer & solution
Correct answer: Statistical and empirical weaknesses stand in the way of inferring any relationship between sports participation and deviance.
- A
There is a direct relationship between sport participation and delinquency but it needs more empirical evidence.
- B
Contradicting the previous optimism, latter researchers have proved that there is no consistent relationship between sports participation and deviance.
Statistical and empirical weaknesses stand in the way of inferring any relationship between sports participation and deviance.
- D
Sports participation is linked to class and cultural variables such as education, income, and social capital.
Easy
Para-summary: find the controlling idea, then drop options that distort or overreach. The passage explains why early optimism about sport deterring delinquency collapsed — not because a relationship was disproved, but because the studies had methodological weaknesses (cross-sectional data, short-term effects, confounding by class/culture, selection problems). The summary must say the relationship could not be reliably established.
Pin the central idea. Researchers "failed to find any consistent relationship" — but the listed reasons are all design/statistical flaws: cross-sectional data, inability to test temporal sequencing, inability to disentangle class and cultural variables, and a self-selection problem in who plays sport. The point is that these weaknesses block any firm inference, not that a no-link finding was proven.
Option 1 — reversal. "There is a direct relationship" contradicts the passage, which says no consistent relationship could be found. Reject.
Option 2 — overreach. It claims researchers "have proved that there is no consistent relationship". The passage never proves the absence of a link; it says the methodology made any conclusion untestable. Proving "no relationship" is a stronger claim than the text supports. Reject.
Option 3 — match. "Statistical and empirical weaknesses stand in the way of inferring any relationship between sports participation and deviance" precisely captures the methodological-limitation theme that runs through every sentence. Retain.
Option 4 — sub-detail. The link to "education, income, and social capital" is only the last clause; it adds specifics the passage doesn't list and ignores the main argument about flawed evidence. Omit + add. Reject.
Correct answer: Option 3 — methodological (statistical/empirical) weaknesses prevent inferring any sport–deviance relationship.
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