Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt have argued that experiencing awe—a sensation of reverence and wonder typically brought on by...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt have argued that experiencing awe—a sensation of reverence and wonder typically brought on by perceiving something grand or powerful—can enable us to feel more connected to others and thereby inspire us to act more altruistically. Keltner, along with Paul K. Piff, Pia Dietze, and colleagues, claims to have found evidence for this effect in a recent study where participants were asked to either gaze up at exceptionally tall trees in a nearby grove (reported to be a universally awe-inspiring experience) or stare at the exterior of a nearby, nondescript building. After one minute, an experimenter deliberately spilled a box of pens nearby.
Which finding from the researchers' study, if true, would most strongly support their claim?
Participants who had been looking at the trees helped the experimenter pick up significantly more pens than did participants who had been looking at the building.
Participants who helped the experimenter pick up the pens used a greater number of positive words to describe the trees and the building in a postexperiment survey than did participants who did not help the experimenter.
Participants who did not help the experimenter pick up the pens were significantly more likely to report having experienced a feeling of awe, regardless of whether they looked at the building or the trees.
Participants who had been looking at the building were significantly more likely to notice that the experimenter had dropped the pens than were participants who had been looking at the trees.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt have argued that experiencing awe—a sensation of reverence and wonder typically brought on by perceiving something grand or powerful—can enable us to feel more connected to others and thereby inspire us to act more altruistically.' |
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| 'Keltner, along with Paul K. Piff, Pia Dietze, and colleagues, claims to have found evidence for this effect in a recent study' |
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| 'where participants were asked to either gaze up at exceptionally tall trees in a nearby grove (reported to be a universally awe-inspiring experience) or stare at the exterior of a nearby, nondescript building.' |
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| 'After one minute, an experimenter deliberately spilled a box of pens nearby.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Researchers claim to have found evidence that experiencing awe makes people more altruistic, based on a study comparing participants who looked at awe-inspiring trees versus a mundane building.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a psychological theory about awe leading to altruistic behavior, then presents researchers claim that they found evidence for this theory through an experiment that exposed people to either awe-inspiring or mundane stimuli before testing their helping behavior.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to identify which potential study finding would most strongly support the researchers claim that awe leads to altruistic behavior.
What type of answer do we need? Evidence that would validate the awe to altruism hypothesis from the experimental setup described.
Any limiting keywords? Most strongly support means we need the finding that provides the clearest, most direct evidence for their claim.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The researchers claim is that awe makes people more altruistic
- Their experimental design set up two conditions: one designed to inspire awe (trees) and one that should not (building)
- Then they created an opportunity for altruistic behavior (helping with spilled pens)
- For the claim to be supported, we would need to see that people in the awe condition (trees) acted more altruistically than people in the non-awe condition (building)
- The most direct measure would be actual helping behavior - did the tree group help pick up more pens than the building group?
Participants who had been looking at the trees helped the experimenter pick up significantly more pens than did participants who had been looking at the building.
✓ Correct
- This directly tests their hypothesis: awe (trees) leads to more altruistic behavior (helping pick up pens)
- Shows the predicted relationship - people exposed to awe-inspiring stimulus helped significantly more
- Matches our prethinking perfectly by comparing actual helping behavior between the two experimental conditions
Participants who helped the experimenter pick up the pens used a greater number of positive words to describe the trees and the building in a postexperiment survey than did participants who did not help the experimenter.
✗ Incorrect
- This focuses on word choice in surveys rather than actual altruistic behavior
- Does not show the causal relationship between awe and altruism that the researchers claim
Participants who did not help the experimenter pick up the pens were significantly more likely to report having experienced a feeling of awe, regardless of whether they looked at the building or the trees.
✗ Incorrect
- This would actually contradict their claim since people who felt awe were less likely to help
- Goes against the predicted relationship between awe and altruistic behavior
Participants who had been looking at the building were significantly more likely to notice that the experimenter had dropped the pens than were participants who had been looking at the trees.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses on noticing the spilled pens rather than helping behavior
- Shows the non-awe group (building) performed better, which does not support the awe to altruism claim