CAT 2020 Slot 2 — VARC Question 4
Direction for Reading Comprehension: The pass ages given here are followed by some questions that have four answer choices; read the passage carefully and pick the option whose answer best aligns with the passage
Aggression is any behavior that is directed toward injuring, harming, or inflicting pain on another living being or group of beings. Generally, the victim(s) of aggression must wish to avoid such behavior in order for it to be considered true aggression. Aggression is also categorized according to its ultimate intent. Hostile aggression is an aggressive act that results from anger, and is intended to inflict pain or injury because of that anger. Instrumental aggression is an aggressive act that is regarded as a means to an end other than pain or injury. For example, an enemy combatant may be subjected to torture in order to extract useful intelligence, though those inflicting the torture may have no real feelings of anger or animosity toward their subject. The concept of aggression is very broad, and includes many categories of behavior (e.g., verbal aggression, street crime, child abuse, spouse abuse, group conflict, war, etc.). A number of theories and models of aggression have arisen to explain these diverse forms of behavior, and these theories/models tend to be categorized according to their specific focus. The most common system of categorization groups the various approaches to aggression into three separate areas, based upon the three key variables that are present whenever any aggressive act or set of acts is committed. The first variable is the aggressor him/herself. The second is the social situation or circumstance in which the aggressive act(s) occur. The third variable is the target or victim of aggression.
Regarding theories and research on the aggressor, the fundamental focus is on the factors that lead an individual (or group) to commit aggressive acts. At the most basic level, some argue that aggressive urges and actions are the result of inborn, biological factors. Sigmund Freud (1930) proposed that all individuals are born with a death instinct that predisposes us to a variety of aggressive behaviors, including suicide (self directed aggression) and mental illness (possibly due to an unhealthy or unnatural suppression of aggressive urges). Other influential perspectives supporting a biological basis for aggression conclude that humans evolved with an abnormally low neural inhibition of aggressive impulses (in comparison to other species), and that humans possess a powerful instinct for property accumulation and territorialism. It is proposed that this instinct accounts for hostile behaviors ranging from minor street crime to world wars. Hormonal factors also appear to play a significant role in fostering aggressive tendencies. For example, the hormone testosterone has been shown to increase aggressive behaviors when injected into animals. Men and women convicted of violent crimes also possess significantly higher levels of testosterone than men and women convicted of nonviolent crimes. Numerous studies comparing different age groups, CAT VARC Section CAT 2020 question paper (slot-2) https://online.bodheeprep.com racial/ethnic groups, and cultures also indicate that men, overall, are more likely to engage in a variety of aggressive behaviors (e.g., sexual assault, aggravated assault, etc.) than women. One explanation for higher levels of aggression in men is based on the assumption that, on average, men have higher levels of testosterone than women.
“[A]n enemy combatant may be subjected to torture in order to extract useful intelligence, though those inflicting the torture may have no real feelings of anger or animosity toward their subject.” Which one of the following best explicates the larger point being made by the author here?
Answer & solution
- A
nformation revealed by subjecting an enemy combatant to torture is not always reliable because of the animosity involved.
- B
When an enemy combatant refuses to reveal information, the use of torture can sometimes involve real feelings of hostility.
In certain kinds of aggression, inflicting pain is not the objective, and is no more than a utilitarian means to achieve another end.
- D
The use of torture to extract information is most effective when the torturer is not emotionally involved in the torture.
Easy
The quoted example illustrates a concept defined just before it: instrumental aggression — "an aggressive act that is regarded as a means to an end other than pain or injury." Find the option that captures this "means to an end" idea, not the surrounding details about torture's effectiveness.
Torture-extracted information is unreliable due to animosity. Wrong. Reliability of intelligence is never the author's point, and the example explicitly says there may be "no real feelings of anger or animosity."
Refusal to reveal information can trigger real hostility. Wrong. This contradicts the example, which describes torturers with no anger; it also adds a scenario not in the text.
In certain aggression, inflicting pain is not the objective but a utilitarian means to another end. Correct. This is precisely the definition of instrumental aggression the example illustrates — pain serves a further purpose (extracting intelligence), not anger.
Torture is most effective when the torturer is emotionally uninvolved. Wrong. The author makes no claim about which approach is "most effective"; the point is conceptual, not a tactical recommendation.
Option (C) is correct: the example illustrates instrumental aggression, where pain is merely a means to an end rather than the objective itself.