In many cultures, a handshake can create trust between people. Engineer João Avelino and his team are designing a robot...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
In many cultures, a handshake can create trust between people. Engineer João Avelino and his team are designing a robot to shake hands with a human in order to improve human-robot interactions. The robot hand adjusts its movements and pressure to better imitate the feel of a human hand. The researchers want the robot's handshake to feel realistic because ________
Which choice most logically completes the text?
lifelike handshakes may make people more comfortable interacting with robots.
it's easier to program a robot to perform handshakes than it is to program a robot to perform some other types of greetings.
people are less likely to interact with robots that don't look like humans.
the robot in the researchers' study may have uses other than interacting with humans.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "In many cultures, a handshake can create trust between people." |
|
| "Engineer João Avelino and his team are designing a robot to shake hands with a human in order to improve human-robot interactions." |
|
| "The robot hand adjusts its movements and pressure to better imitate the feel of a human hand." |
|
| "The researchers want the robot's handshake to feel realistic because ______" |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Researchers are designing a realistic robot handshake to improve human-robot interactions.
Argument Flow: The passage starts by establishing that handshakes build trust culturally, then introduces a research project creating robot handshakes to improve human-robot interactions. The technical method involves making the robot hand feel human-like, and we need to complete the reasoning for why realism matters.
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 passage tells us that handshakes create trust, and the researchers want to improve human-robot interactions
- They're making the robot handshake feel realistic
- So the missing piece should connect realistic handshakes to better human-robot interactions
- The right answer should explain how realistic handshakes would help achieve the goal of improving human-robot interactions - likely by making people more comfortable or trusting when interacting with robots
lifelike handshakes may make people more comfortable interacting with robots.
✓ Correct
- Directly connects realistic handshakes to improved human-robot interactions
- Matches the logical flow: realistic handshake leads to comfort leads to better interactions
- Builds on the opening context about handshakes creating trust
it's easier to program a robot to perform handshakes than it is to program a robot to perform some other types of greetings.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses on programming difficulty rather than the effect on humans
- Doesn't explain why realism matters for human-robot interactions
- This trap represents students thinking this is about technical efficiency, but the passage is focused on human psychology, not programming challenges
people are less likely to interact with robots that don't look like humans.
✗ Incorrect
- Talks about robot appearance, but the passage is specifically about handshakes
- Doesn't connect to the handshake realism discussed in the passage
- The passage doesn't mention anything about robots looking like humans
the robot in the researchers' study may have uses other than interacting with humans.
✗ Incorrect
- Mentions other uses for the robot, which is irrelevant to the handshake question
- Doesn't explain why handshake realism would matter
- Goes off-topic from the human-robot interaction focus