ParaSummary Question 2 - CAT 2020
Passage: For nearly a century most psychologists have embraced one view of intelligence. Individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential (I.Q.); this potential is heavily influenced by heredity and difficult to alter; experts in measurement can determine a personās intelligence early in life, currently from paper-and-pencil measures, perhaps eventually from examining the brain in action or even scrutinizing his/her genome. Recently, criticism of this conventional wisdom has mounted. Biologists ask if speaking of a single entity called āintelligenceā is coherent and question the validity of measures used to estimate heritability of a trait in humans, who, unlike plants or animals, are not conceived and bred under controlled conditions.
A) Biologists have questioned the long-standing view that āintelligenceā is a single entity and the attempts to estimate it’s heritability.
B) Biologists have criticised that conventional wisdom that individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential.
C) Biologists have started questioning psychologists’ view of ‘intelligence’ as a measurable immutable characteristic of an individual.
D) Biologists have questioned the view that āintelligenceā is a single entity and the ways in which what is inherited.
Step-by-Step Explanation
- Correct Answer: A
- Explanation: The passage outlines a traditional psychometric view of intelligence (fixed, measurable, highly heritable) and presents a modern critique by biologists who challenge two things: whether a single entity called "intelligence" exists, and the validity of measuring its heritability in uncontrolled human environments. Option A cleanly summarizes these two core points of criticism.
- FundaMakers Tip: Identify the Subject Shift. The main point of the paragraph is the biological critique of a long-standing psychological paradigm. Option C leaves out the core issue of heritability, making Option A much more comprehensive.