Risk

Answer choices

1. A

   Contradicted: will vary widely4% picked this

   the introduction to a thought experiment whose results the author expects will vary widely

   This thought experiment is supposed to have a very predictable outcome (not widely different responses). The author is discussing this experiment because it demonstrates a common feature of our psychology. People tend to judge this thought experiment in similar ways. "It is commonplace to think ____ . Accordingly, such a gamble would typically be accepted only when ___ . Research subjects do, in fact, commonly judge ___. "

   4%
2. B

   Opposite: in conflict with22% picked this

   a rhetorical question whose assumed answer is in conflict with the previously accepted view

   This rhetorical question gets answered in an experiment, and the results of this experiment are supposed to illustrate the previously accepted view of risk-taking. In this experiment, people aren't willing to take risks on a 50/50 gamble unless the expected winnings are way more than the expected losses. The previously accepted view gets turned on its head in the final paragraph. For some reason, countries are sometimes willing to take risks even though the expected winnings are not way more than the expected losses (and the passage identifies that the reason for this exception is that people hate to lose something they subjectively consider theirs).

   22%
3. C

   Correct69% picked this

   the basis for an illustration of how the previously accepted view concerning risk-taking behavior applies accurately to

   Why this is right

   Like the vast majority of correct answers on question asking about the function / purpose of a detail, this correct answer sounds like the setup text that occurs right before the detail being asked about. As we've discussed, this rhetorical question and the attached experimental data are meant to illustrate the previously accepted notion of risk-assessment. In this experiment, people are not willing to gamble on a 50/50 proposition unless the expected winnings are "sufficiently high" to compensate for risk. Sure enough, people aren't willing to risk $100 unless they stand to gain at least $300.

   Skill tested: Local Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   69%
4. D

   Wrong Purpose2% picked this

   a suggestion that the discrepancies between subjective and objective valuations of possible decision outcomes are

   At no point in this paragraph (or the passage) is the author trying to say there's no real difference between a subjective and an objective valuation of possible decision outcomes.

   2%
5. E

   Out of Scope: unaccepted findings4% picked this

   a transitional device to smooth an otherwise abrupt switch from discussion of previous theories to discussion of some

   This is sort of a funny answer, because it isn't describing the logical purpose of a sentence (i.e. how it relates to the nearby discussion). Instead, it's describing the stylistic purpose (i.e. how it affects the reader's flow). It seems very unlikely that we'd ever see a correct answer describing the function of a sentence by talking about as though we're the author's editor and giving feedback on how they could improve readability. Furthermore, there is nothing in the passage about "previously unaccepted research findings". There is a previously accepted notion of risk and a now-updated notion of risk. But there aren't research findings that haven't been accepted.

   4%