Text 1Many studies in psychology have shown that people seek out information even when they know in advance that they...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Many studies in psychology have shown that people seek out information even when they know in advance that they have no immediate use for it and that they won't directly benefit from it. Such findings support the consensus view among researchers of curiosity: namely, that curiosity is not instrumental but instead represents a drive to acquire information for its own sake.
Text 2
While acknowledging that acquiring information is a powerful motivator, Rachit Dubey and colleagues ran an experiment to test whether emphasizing the usefulness of scientific information could increase curiosity about it. They found that when research involving rats and fruit flies was presented as having medical applications for humans, participants expressed greater interest in learning about it than when the research was not presented as useful.
Based on the texts, how would Dubey and colleagues (Text 2) most likely respond to the consensus view discussed in Text 1?
By suggesting that curiosity may not be exclusively motivated by the desire to merely acquire information
By conceding that people may seek out information that serves no immediate purpose only because they think they can use it later
By pointing out that it is challenging to determine when information-seeking serves no goal beyond acquiring information
By disputing the idea that curiosity can help explain apparently purposeless information-seeking behaviors
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Many studies in psychology have shown that people seek out information even when they know in advance that they have no immediate use for it and that they won't directly benefit from it." |
|
| "Such findings support the consensus view among researchers of curiosity: namely, that curiosity is not instrumental but instead represents a drive to acquire information for its own sake." |
|
| "While acknowledging that acquiring information is a powerful motivator, Rachit Dubey and colleagues ran an experiment to test whether emphasizing the usefulness of scientific information could increase curiosity about it." |
|
| "They found that when research involving rats and fruit flies was presented as having medical applications for humans, participants expressed greater interest in learning about it than when the research was not presented as useful." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Text 1 presents the consensus that curiosity is non-instrumental, while Text 2 provides experimental evidence suggesting that perceived usefulness can actually increase curiosity.
Argument Flow: Text 1 establishes the dominant view that curiosity operates independently of practical benefit, supported by studies showing people seek information they know won't help them. Text 2 challenges this by showing experimental results where emphasizing practical applications increased participants' curiosity about scientific research.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? How would Dubey and colleagues respond to the consensus view from Text 1?
What type of answer do we need? A prediction of how one set of researchers would react to another group's theoretical position
Any limiting keywords? "most likely respond" - we need the most reasonable response based on their experimental findings
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The consensus view says curiosity is NOT instrumental - people seek information for its own sake, not for practical reasons
- But Dubey's experiment showed that when research was presented as having medical applications, people were MORE interested in learning about it
- This suggests that usefulness can actually motivate curiosity
- So Dubey would likely challenge the consensus view by suggesting that curiosity isn't ONLY about acquiring information for its own sake - it can also be motivated by perceived usefulness or practical value
By suggesting that curiosity may not be exclusively motivated by the desire to merely acquire information
- This directly matches Dubey's experimental findings
- The word "exclusively" is key - Dubey's results suggest curiosity isn't ONLY motivated by information-seeking for its own sake
- Dubey's research shows usefulness can also motivate curiosity, challenging the idea that curiosity has just one motivation
By conceding that people may seek out information that serves no immediate purpose only because they think they can use it later
- This choice focuses on "later" usefulness, but Dubey's study emphasized immediate medical applications
- The phrase "serves no immediate purpose" doesn't align with Dubey's findings about presenting research as having clear medical applications
By pointing out that it is challenging to determine when information-seeking serves no goal beyond acquiring information
- Dubey's study doesn't suggest it's "challenging to determine" motivations - it clearly shows that emphasizing usefulness increases interest
- This choice focuses on measurement difficulties rather than Dubey's actual findings about utility and curiosity
By disputing the idea that curiosity can help explain apparently purposeless information-seeking behaviors
- This is too strong - Dubey wouldn't dispute that curiosity can explain purposeless information-seeking
- Dubey's research adds to our understanding of curiosity rather than disputing existing explanations