Question

Evidence has been presented that the unconscious mind, still viewed by many psychological scientists as the shadow of a ‘‘real’’ conscious mind, is identifiably more deliberate, action oriented and complex than its conscious counterpart. Furthermore researchers have proven that the mind is incredibly efficient at extracting meaning from stimuli of which one is not consciously aware. The claims above are made on conclusive experimentations in which test subjects who were allowed to sleep during a decision making process made more optimal decisions when compared to the subjects who were given the exact same amount of information but were not allowed to sleep, leading researchers to believe that rationality comes on the way of making a rational decision. Researchers explain that while the conscious mind can only follow strict rules, unconscious mind can handle and integrate a larger amount of information, explaining why it can make better decisions. Even more surprising than this unconscious mind’s ability is that the mental processes that drive such decision making are necessarily minimal and unsophisticated and do not require humongous amount of calories to make us arrive at the best decision whereas using conscious mind for complex decisions burns up a lot of energy, setting in fatigue, forcing the conscious mind to give up and leading to subconscious decisions. Overall, researchers agree that there is no need to have sleepless night pondering over a complex issue to resolve it when it can actually be solved more efficiently by snoring the night away.
(A) highlight the differences among psychologists regarding the importance of the unconscious mind in making complex decisions.
(B) contrast and compare the workings of the rationality with that of deliberate, action-oriented, and complex decision-making processes.
(C) prove that the unconscious mind is more effective than the conscious mind in complex decision-making.
(D) show that conscious mind is not that undependable as previously thought.
(E) ascertain that using conscious and unconscious minds together yield second-to-none judgements.

Hint:

Identify the passage’s main argument (unconscious mind’s superiority) to select the purpose that matches the evidence presented.

Answer 1

Step 1: The passage discusses the unconscious mind’s abilities, supported by experiments showing better decision-making when subjects sleep, compared to the conscious mind’s limitations.
Step 2: The purpose is to demonstrate the unconscious mind’s superiority in complex decision-making, as it can handle more information efficiently without fatigue, unlike the conscious mind.
Step 3: Option A is incorrect because the passage does not focus on differences among psychologists but on evidence supporting the unconscious mind.
Step 4: Option B is wrong as it emphasizes rationality versus decision-making processes, not the unconscious versus conscious mind.
Step 5: Option D is incorrect because the passage does not defend the conscious mind’s reliability but critiques its limitations.
Step 6: Option E is wrong as the passage does not advocate using both minds together but highlights the unconscious mind’s standalone effectiveness.
Verification: Option C aligns with the passage’s focus on proving the unconscious mind’s effectiveness in complex decisions through experimental evidence.