In a landmark 1961 study, psychologist Stanley Milgram observed participants delivering what they believed were electric shocks to another person...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
In a landmark 1961 study, psychologist Stanley Milgram observed participants delivering what they believed were electric shocks to another person when instructed by an authority figure; despite visible distress, 65% of participants continued to the highest shock level when the experimenter insisted they proceed. This finding—in which ordinary individuals demonstrated a willingness to harm others under authoritative pressure—exemplifies what social psychologists term "obedience to authority," a phenomenon that helps explain how social hierarchies can override individual moral judgment in group settings.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
It provides a description of experimental results that demonstrates a psychological principle explained in the following sentence.
It presents a hypothesis about human behavior that is challenged by evidence cited in the following sentence.
It summarizes a controversial research method that is defended through theoretical analysis in the following sentence.
It establishes a timeline for psychological research that contextualizes the broader field discussed in the following sentence.
Looking at this Text Structure and Purpose question, let me work through it systematically.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "In a landmark 1961 study, psychologist Stanley Milgram observed participants delivering what they believed were electric shocks to another person when instructed by an authority figure;" |
|
| "despite visible distress, \(65\%\) of participants continued to the highest shock level when the experimenter insisted they proceed." |
|
| "This finding—in which ordinary individuals demonstrated a willingness to harm others under authoritative pressure—exemplifies what social psychologists term 'obedience to authority,' a phenomenon that helps explain how social hierarchies can override individual moral judgment in group settings." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The Milgram study revealed that most ordinary people will harm others when pressured by authority figures, demonstrating the psychological phenomenon of obedience to authority.
Argument Flow: The passage moves from historical context (introducing the landmark study) to concrete evidence (the \(65\%\) statistic) to theoretical significance (explaining what this reveals about human psychology and social hierarchies).
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The underlined sentence provides the concrete numerical results from Milgram's experiment
- It comes after the setup and before the theoretical explanation
- The right answer should capture that this sentence presents experimental data that supports or demonstrates the psychological concept explained in the next sentence
It provides a description of experimental results that demonstrates a psychological principle explained in the following sentence.
✓ Correct
- This perfectly captures what we see - the underlined sentence gives us the experimental results (65% statistic) and the following sentence explains the psychological principle ("obedience to authority") that these results demonstrate
It presents a hypothesis about human behavior that is challenged by evidence cited in the following sentence.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the sentence presents a "hypothesis" that gets "challenged" but we're seeing experimental results, not a hypothesis, and the following sentence supports rather than challenges these findings
It summarizes a controversial research method that is defended through theoretical analysis in the following sentence.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses on defending a "controversial research method" but the sentence provides results data, not methodological justification
It establishes a timeline for psychological research that contextualizes the broader field discussed in the following sentence.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the sentence "establishes a timeline" but while the passage mentions 1961, the underlined sentence is about numerical results, not chronological context