Text 1 Imagine you and your friend are trying to decide where to eat lunch. When people try to make...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Imagine you and your friend are trying to decide where to eat lunch. When people try to make joint decisions like this, they often don't reveal their true preferences. Instead, they say they would be happy with all options because they think this response will help them appear more easygoing and likable to the other person.
Text 2
Research shows that people who don't state their preferences when making a decision with others aren't more likable in the eyes of others. In fact, stating that you have no preference actually makes the decision more difficult for other people. It can also cause them to feel less happy with their ultimate decision and with you.
Based on the texts, what response would the author of Text 2 most likely suggest for someone in the situation described in the underlined sentence in Text 1?
Cancel the plan to have lunch together.
Ask where the friend typically likes to eat.
State a preference about where to eat.
Change the subject to talk about something else.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: "Imagine you and your friend are trying to decide where to eat lunch." |
|
| "When people try to make joint decisions like this, they often don't reveal their true preferences." |
|
| "Instead, they say they would be happy with all options because they think this response will help them appear more easygoing and likable to the other person." |
|
| Text 2: "Research shows that people who don't state their preferences when making a decision with others aren't more likable in the eyes of others." |
|
| "In fact, stating that you have no preference actually makes the decision more difficult for other people." |
|
| "It can also cause them to feel less happy with their ultimate decision and with you." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Research contradicts the common belief that hiding your preferences makes you more likable—it actually makes decisions harder and less satisfying for everyone involved.
Argument Flow: Text 1 describes a common decision-making behavior (hiding preferences to seem likable) and explains the motivation behind it. Text 2 then presents research findings that directly challenge this assumption, showing that the behavior not only fails to achieve its intended goal but actually creates negative outcomes for others.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? What would the author of Text 2 most likely suggest for someone in the specific situation described in the underlined sentence from Text 1?
What type of answer do we need? A behavioral recommendation that aligns with Text 2's research findings
Any limiting keywords? "most likely suggest" (we need the suggestion that best fits Text 2's perspective), "underlined sentence" (specifically refers to the behavior of saying you're happy with all options to appear likable)
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Based on Text 2's research, the author would suggest doing the opposite of what Text 1 describes
- Since Text 1 talks about people hiding their preferences to seem likable, and Text 2 shows this strategy backfires, the author would recommend being honest about your preferences
- The research indicates that stating preferences doesn't hurt your likability and actually helps others make better decisions they're happier with
- The right answer should recommend directly stating what you want rather than claiming to be happy with anything
Cancel the plan to have lunch together.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests canceling the lunch plan entirely
- This doesn't address the core issue of preference communication and Text 2 focuses on improving decision-making, not avoiding it
Ask where the friend typically likes to eat.
✗ Incorrect
- Asks about the friend's preferences instead of stating your own
- This still avoids the main problem identified in Text 2—the lack of honest preference sharing
State a preference about where to eat.
✓ Correct
- Directly addresses Text 2's findings by recommending honest preference communication
- This represents the opposite approach from Text 1's behavior of hiding preferences and aligns with the research showing that stating preferences helps rather than hurts relationships and decision-making
Change the subject to talk about something else.
✗ Incorrect
- Avoids the decision-making situation completely
- This doesn't apply Text 2's research to improve the lunch decision process and sidesteps rather than solves the communication issue