List of practice Questions

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.
In research designed to investigate the possibility of animals developing friendship with other, unrelated, members of their species, a group of 29 chimpanzees were reared together for 15 years. At the end of that time the chimps were presented with two options for obtaining food: press a lever and feed themselves, or press another identical lever and feed themselves, and at the same time deliver food to the chimp next door. (The chimps were able to see each other). The researchers found that the chimps were no more likely to choose the lever that fed a neighbour. The researchers concluded that the chimps had no concept of friendship. However, one critic has suggested that the animals were in an artificial environment from which little can be concluded, and that, at the least, the test ought to have involved the animals being able to touch.
What role do the parts in boldface play in the argument above?
(A) The first is a position that the critic opposes. The second is a position that the critic supports.
(B) The first is an observation that supports the researcher’s position. The second is an observation that opposes the researcher’s position.
(C) The first is a finding on which the researchers base their conclusion. The second is a suggestion that might cast doubt on that finding.
(D) The first is an observation that supports the critic’s conclusion. The second is the critic’s conclusion.
(E) The first is part of the evidence that the critic disputes. The second is a suggestion that the researchers do not accept.