What does a good life look like to you? For some, the phrase may conjure up images of a close-knit family, a steady job, and a Victorian house at the end of a street arched with oak trees. Others may focus on the goal of making a difference in the world, whether by working as a nurse or teacher, volunteering, or pouring their energy into environmental activism. According to Aristotlean theory, the first kind of life would be classified as “hedonic”—one based on pleasure, comfort, stability, and strong social relationships. The second is “eudaimonic,” primarily concerned with the sense of purpose and fulfilment one gets by contributing to the greater good. The ancient Greek philosopher outlined these ideas in his treatise Nicomachean Ethics, and the psychological sciences have pretty much stuck them ever since when discussing the possibilities of what people might want out of their time on Earth. But a new paper, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Review, suggests there’s another way to live a good life. It isn’t focused on happiness or purpose, but rather it’s a life that’s “psychologically rich.”
What is a psychologically rich life? According to authors Shige Oishi, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and Erin Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida, it’s one characterized by “interesting experiences in which novelty and/or complexity are accompanied by profound changes in perspective.”
Studying abroad, for example, is one way that college students often introduce psychological richness into their lives. As they learn more about a new country’s customs and history, they’re often prompted to reconsider the social mores of their own cultures. Deciding to embark on a difficult new career path or immersing one’s self in avant-garde art (the paper gives a specific shout-out to James Joyce’s Ulysses) also could make a person feel as if their life is more psychologically rich.
Crucially, an experience doesn’t have to be fun in order to qualify as psychologically enriching. It might even be a hardship. Living through war or a natural disaster might make it hard to feel as though you’re living a particularly happy or purposeful life, but you can still come out of the experience with psychological richness. Or you might encounter less dramatic but nonetheless painful events: infertility, chronic illness, unemployment. Regardless of the specifics, you may experience suffering but still find value in how your experience shapes your understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Which of the following statements BEST contrasts Hedonic from Eudaimonic?
- Hedonic believes in seeking pleasure while Eudaimonic focuses on depriving oneself of pleasure.
- Hedonic focuses on what gives pleasure to self, while Eudaimonic focuses on what he/she believes benefits the society.
- Hedonic focuses on the emptiness from seeking pleasure, while Eudaimonic focuses on the fulfilment by giving pleasure to others.
- Hedonic believes that pleasure leads to fulfilment while Eudaimonic believes that fulfilment leads to pleasure.
- Hedonic focuses on pleasure to self while Eudaimonic focuses on pleasure to the other.
The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
The question is about contrasting Hedonic and Eudaimonic philosophies. Let's break down the provided options and the context from the provided passage. Both these concepts relate to different perspectives on how to lead a fulfilling life.
Hedonic Philosophy: This viewpoint emphasizes pleasure as the primary or most important intrinsic good. It is about maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain, focusing on aspects like comfort, stability, and enjoyment of life's pleasures.
Eudaimonic Philosophy: This perspective is more about finding purpose and meaning in life. It’s about realizing one's potential and contributing to the well-being of society, which, in return, promotes a sense of fulfillment.
According to the passage, the hedonic life involves pleasure, comfort, and close personal relationships, while the eudaimonic life is more focused on contributing to the greater good. Now, let’s evaluate the options:
- The option “Hedonic believes in seeking pleasure while Eudaimonic focuses on depriving oneself of pleasure.” is incorrect because eudaimonic philosophy does not imply self-deprivation of pleasure, but rather finding fulfillment through other means.
- The option “Hedonic focuses on what gives pleasure to self, while Eudaimonic focuses on what he/she believes benefits the society.” correctly captures the contrast between focusing on self-centered pleasure in hedonic and societal contribution in eudaimonic.
- The option “Hedonic focuses on the emptiness from seeking pleasure, while Eudaimonic focuses on the fulfilment by giving pleasure to others.” misrepresents hedonic by implying it focuses on the emptiness, which isn't inherent in this philosophy.
- The option “Hedonic believes that pleasure leads to fulfilment while Eudaimonic believes that fulfilment leads to pleasure.” is misleading because eudaimonic does not prioritize pleasure as an end goal.
- The option “Hedonic focuses on pleasure to self while Eudaimonic focuses on pleasure to the other.” incorrectly suggests eudaimonia is about giving pleasure to others, rather than societal contributions leading to fulfillment.
Therefore, the most accurate contrast, as per the explanation and passage, is:
Correct Answer: Hedonic focuses on what gives pleasure to self, while Eudaimonic focuses on what he/she believes benefits the society.
Approach Solution -2
The concepts of Hedonia and Eudaimonia come from ancient Greek philosophy and modern psychology, representing two distinct ways of defining a “good life”:
- Hedonic perspective ($H$): Centered on seeking pleasure, comfort, and avoidance of pain. Mathematically, one could think of it as maximizing $$ H = \sum ( \text{Pleasure} - \text{Pain} ). $$
- Eudaimonic perspective ($E$): Focused on living a life of meaning, purpose, and contribution to society. It is less about immediate pleasure and more about virtue, self-realization, and social good.
Why Option 2 is BEST
- Correctly contrasts the two orientations: – Hedonic = pleasure for oneself. – Eudaimonic = meaningful action, often linked to benefit of others/society.
- This contrast captures the self-oriented vs. society/virtue-oriented difference clearly.
Why Other Options Are Incorrect
- Option 1: Wrong — Eudaimonia is not about deprivation of pleasure, but about purpose and virtue.
- Option 3: Misleading — Hedonic life is not defined by “emptiness,” and Eudaimonia is not only about “giving pleasure to others.”
- Option 4: Too simplistic — Though it contrasts pleasure and fulfilment, it does not capture the societal/virtue dimension of Eudaimonia.
- Option 5: Incomplete — Eudaimonia is not just “pleasure to others,” but a deeper sense of meaning, growth, and societal benefit.
Key Takeaway
Hedonic well-being = pursuing pleasure and comfort for oneself.
Eudaimonic well-being = pursuing meaning, virtue, and actions that contribute to the greater good.
Therefore, Option 2 provides the clearest and most accurate distinction.
Which of the following statements BEST defines a “psychologically rich life”?
- A life that offers interesting experiences that makes you question what life is
- A life where novel experiences result in a fundamental change to our existing views
- A life that is filled with learning opportunities that makes us an expert in a particular area
- A life that is filled with novel experiences which changes our view of what a good life is
- Any novel experience that affects us cognitively makes us psychologically rich
The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
To determine which statement best defines a "psychologically rich life," we need to understand the context in which this term is used based on the provided passage. The passage discusses various perspectives on what constitutes a good life, introducing a concept distinct from the traditional views of hedonic (pleasure-based) and eudaimonic (purpose-based) living. The authors, Shige Oishi and Erin Westgate, propose a "psychologically rich life" as being characterized by novel and complex experiences leading to profound changes in one's perspective.
Let us evaluate each option against this definition:
- A life that offers interesting experiences that makes you question what life is: While this option talks about interesting experiences, it focuses on questioning life rather than resulting in a fundamental change to existing views.
- A life where novel experiences result in a fundamental change to our existing views: This option aligns perfectly with the passage's definition of a psychologically rich life, where novel experiences bring about profound changes in perspective. This is the correct answer.
- A life that is filled with learning opportunities that makes us an expert in a particular area: This focuses more on gaining expertise, which is not necessarily related to experiencing novel situations that alter one's perspective.
- A life that is filled with novel experiences which changes our view of what a good life is: Although this involves changes in understanding, it emphasizes altering the notion of a good life rather than a comprehensive transformation of existing views.
- Any novel experience that affects us cognitively makes us psychologically rich: This implies that any cognitive effect from new experiences leads to psychological richness, which oversimplifies the nuanced view discussed in the passage.
Therefore, option 2, "A life where novel experiences result in a fundamental change to our existing views," best defines a "psychologically rich life" based on the information provided.
Approach Solution -2
A psychologically rich life emphasizes varied, complex, and perspective-shifting experiences that lead to meaningful changes in how we understand the world and ourselves. It is not merely about pleasure (hedonia) or achievement/virtue (eudaimonia), but about novelty + cognitive transformation.
We can express the essence informally as: $$ \text{Psychological Richness} \;\; R \;\propto\; \text{Novelty} \; (N)\;\times\; \text{Depth of Perspective Change}\; (\Delta P). $$ High $N$ with strong $\Delta P$ best captures the idea.
Why Option 2 is BEST
- Includes novelty ($N$): new, diverse experiences.
- Requires transformation ($\Delta P$): a fundamental change in one’s existing views, not just surface-level interest.
- This pair (novelty + transformed perspective) is the core criterion of a psychologically rich life.
Why the Other Options Are Not Best
- Option 1: “Interesting experiences” may provoke curiosity or questions, but the statement doesn’t require a fundamental change in viewpoint. Interest $\neq$ transformation.
- Option 3: Focuses on expertise in a particular area (accumulating knowledge/skill). That aligns more with eudaimonic growth (mastery/achievement) than with the varied, perspective-shifting richness emphasized here.
- Option 4: Mentions “novel experiences” but narrows the change to “what a good life is.” Psychologically rich lives can shift many facets of perspective (self, others, values, culture), not just one’s concept of the good life. It’s too narrow.
- Option 5: Overgeneralizes. Any cognitive effect is too weak a threshold. The definition needs novelty that leads to substantive (fundamental) perspective change, not just minor or fleeting cognitive impact.
Key Takeaway
A psychologically rich life centers on novel experiences that significantly alter one’s perspectives. Hence, Option 2 is the most accurate and complete statement.
Which of the following statements can be BEST concluded from the passage?
- A bad experience can enrich someone psychologically.
- An unpleasant experience can enable a good life.
- Life need not be good, but can still be psychologically rich.
- A psychologically rich life is a good life.
- A good life should not be seen in binary terms.
The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
To solve this question, we need to deduce which statement can be best concluded from the passage provided.
The passage discusses different perspectives on what constitutes a 'good life.' It introduces the traditional Aristotelian perspectives of hedonic (pleasure-based) and eudaimonic (purpose-based) lives but emphasizes an alternative perspective introduced by recent research: a "psychologically rich life." This type of life is defined by novel and complex experiences that create profound shifts in perspective, even if those experiences are not necessarily pleasant or joyful.
Key points from the passage include:
- A psychologically rich life is not centered on happiness or purpose but on enriching experiences that might be challenging or difficult.
- Experiences like studying abroad or going through hardships such as war or illness can add psychological richness to one's life.
Now, let's analyze each option:
- Option A: "A bad experience can enrich someone psychologically." This is partially true but does not fully capture the essence of the passage, focusing more on 'psychological richness' than a 'good life.'
- Option B: "An unpleasant experience can enable a good life." This captures the core of the passage where unpleasant experiences contribute to psychological richness, and thus a 'good life' in this new perspective.
- Option C: "Life need not be good, but can still be psychologically rich." This option is close to the passage but inversely states the conclusion; the passage suggests psychological richness can contribute to a 'good life.'
- Option D: "A psychologically rich life is a good life." This is a generalization and oversimplifies the concept presented in the passage.
- Option E: "A good life should not be seen in binary terms." This is related to the introduction of a third perspective but does not directly conclude the passage.
Thus, the option that best concludes the passage considering the context and information provided is:
Option B: "An unpleasant experience can enable a good life."
Approach Solution -2
The passage makes a distinction between a good life and a psychologically rich life. It emphasizes that:
- Even experiences that are unpleasant or challenging can contribute positively to the quality of life.
- Such experiences may not always be “good” in the conventional sense, but they provide depth, perspective, and growth that enrich life.
Now, analyzing the options:
- Option 1: True, but too narrow — the focus is not only on psychological enrichment but on enabling a good life.
- Option 2: This is the best conclusion since it captures the essence that unpleasant experiences can still contribute to and enable a fulfilling life.
- Option 3: Misleading — the passage does not reject the idea of a good life, it redefines it.
- Option 4: Incorrect — a psychologically rich life is not automatically equated with a good life.
- Option 5: Too abstract and not directly supported by the passage.
Hence, the most accurate conclusion is:
\[ \boxed{\text{An unpleasant experience can enable a good life}} \]
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are letters ‘e’ taken from four popular logos, arranged in a sequence. Which of the options is the correct sequence?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are four options, each showing consecutive frames representing the movement of a pendulum of an old-style wall clock for an animation movie. Which is the correct option?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Acrucial moderating factor in how people experience comparisons is self-esteem. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to interpret upward comparison as informative rather than threatening. They are more resilient in the face of others’ success and more likely to believe they can reach their own goals. In contrast, people with low self-esteem are more prone to interpret comparison as judgment, reinforcing negative self-views and triggering feelings of inadequacy.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing loop. People with high self-esteem are less vulnerable to upward comparison, which intensifies those doubts. Those with a secure sense of self are more likely to use comparison as a learning tool. The same external stimulus—a colleague’s achievements, a friend’s popularity—can have radically different effects depending on internal stability.
Self-esteem also influences how people choose their comparison targets. Research has found that individuals often engage in “selective comparison,” seeking out those who confirm their existing beliefs about themselves. This can become a subtle form of self-sabotage. Someone who feels unworthy may subconsciously seek out targets that reinforce that sense, perpetuating a narrative of inferiority. One of the most promising antidotes to social comparison is temporal comparison—evaluating oneself not against others, but against one’s own past. This method has been shown to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially when individuals can see concrete progress. Temporal comparison activates the same reward circuits as social comparison but avoids the threat systems associated with social ranking. It also reinforces agency: individuals focus on what they can control and improve rather than what others control. In therapeutic and coaching settings, temporal comparison is used to help clients build self-efficacy and track growth over time.
Moreover, people who focus on self-improvement rather than social dominance are less likely to fall into cycles of envy or self-pity. They can still use others as inspiration, but they do so without attaching their self-worth to the outcome. This is not to say they never compare—but that they focus on learning, rather than judgment. The most skilful approach to comparison may lie in eliminating it, but in reframing it as feedback. When we interpret comparison as information rather than a verdict, we can ask, “What can I learn from this?” This shift turns comparison into a growth tool. Teachers mentor their students, not as rivals. Psychologists emphasize that the key variable here is mindset.
A fixed mindset sees comparison as a threat. If someone else is better, it means we are worse. A growth mindset sees comparison as a map. If someone else has reached a certain level, it means the path exists. This reframing is not just a cognitive trick. It changes the emotional tone of comparison, making it more likely to inspire than to wound. Reframing also requires emotional regulation—the ability to notice an initial pang of envy or shame without reacting impulsively. With practice, individuals can learn to pause, reflect, and reinterpret their emotional responses. Over time, this builds resilience and self-trust, allowing comparison to become a learning tool rather than a cage.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
When people who are talking don’t share the same culture, knowledge, values, and assumptions, mutual understanding can be especially difficult. Such understanding is possible through the negotiation of meaning. To negotiate meaning with someone, you have to become aware of and respect both the differences in your backgrounds and when these differences are important. You need enough diversity of cultural and personal experience to be aware that divergent world views exist and what they might be like. You also need the flexibility in world view, and a generous tolerance for mistakes, as well as a talent for finding the right metaphor to communicate the relevant parts of unshared experiences or to highlight the shared experiences while demphasizing the others. Metaphorical imagination is a crucial skill in creating rapport and in communicating the nature of unshared experience. This skill consists, in large measure, of the ability to bend your world view and adjust the way you categorize your experiences. Problems of mutual understanding are not exotic; they arise in all extended conversations where understanding is important.
When it really counts, meaning is almost never communicated according to the CONDUIT metaphor, that is, where one person transmits a fixed, clear proposition to another by means of expressions in a common language, where both parties have all the relevant common knowledge, assumptions, values, etc. When the chips are down, meaning is negotiated: you slowly figure out what you have in common, what it is safe to talk about, how you can communicate unshared experience or create a shared vision. With enough flexibility in bending your world view and with luck and charity, you may achieve some mutual understanding.
Communication theories based on the CONDUIT metaphor turn from the pathetic to the evil when they are applied indiscriminately on a large scale, say, in government surveillance or computerized files. There, what is most crucial for real understanding is almost never included, and it is assumed that the words in the file have meaning in themselves—disembodied, objective, understandable meaning. When a society lives by the CONDUITmetaphor on a large scale, misunderstanding, persecution, and much worse are the likely products.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Later, I realized that reviewing the history of nuclear physics served another purpose as well: It gave the lie to the naive belief that the physicists could have come together when nuclear fission was discovered (in Nazi Germany!) and agreed to keep the discovery a secret, thereby sparing humanity such a burden. No. Given the development of nuclear physics up to 1938, development that physicists throughout the world pursued in all innocence of any intention of finding the engine of a new weapon of mass destruction—only one of them, the remarkable Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, took that possibility seriously—the discovery of nuclear fission was inevitable. To stop it, you would have had to stop physics. If German scientists hadn’t made the discovery when they did, French, American, Russian, Italian, or Danish scientists would have done so, almost certainly within days or weeks. They were all working at the same cutting edge, trying to understand the strange results of a simple experiment bombarding uranium with neutrons. Here was no Faustian bargain, as movie directors and other naifs still find it intellectually challenging to imagine. Here was no evil machinery that the noble scientists might hide from the problems and the generals. To the contrary, there was a high insight into how the world works, an energetic reaction, older than the earth, that science had finally devised the instruments and arrangements to coart forth. “Make it seem inevitable,” Louis Pasteur used to advise his students when they prepared to write up their discoveries. But it was. To wish that it might have been ignored or suppressed is barbarous. “Knowledge,” Niels Bohr once noted, “is itself the basis for civilization.” You cannot have the one without the other; the one depends upon the other. Nor can you have only benevolent knowledge; the scientific method doesn’t filter for benevolence. Knowledge has consequences, not always intended, not always comfortable, but always welcome. The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth. “It is a profound and necessary truth,” Robert Oppenheimer would say, “that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.”
...Bohr proposed once that the goal of science is not universal truth. Rather, he argued, the modest but relentless goal of science is “the gradual removal of prejudices.” The discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has gradually removed the prejudice that the earth is the center of the universe. The discovery of microbes is gradually removing the prejudice that disease is a punishment from God. The discovery of evolution is gradually removing the prejudice that Homo sapiens is a separate and special creation.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in XAT exam
- An artificial swimming pool is circular and water is flowing clockwise at a speed of 3 km/hr. Two swimmers Ayub and Rana start from diametrically opposite points, Ayub in the anticlockwise direction and Rana in the clockwise direction. They first meet at a point such that Ayub has covered 60 m by that time. Their second meeting point is such that Rana has covered another 180 m after the first meeting point. If the speed of Rana in still water is 3 km/hr, find the time taken by Ayub to cover one full circle in the clockwise direction.
- XAT - 2026
- Time and Work
- Arrange the following generations from the oldest to the youngest:
1. Generation X
2. Silent Generation
3. Generation Alpha
4. Baby Boomers
5. Millennials
- XAT - 2026
- Current Affairs
- Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Brijbhushan, a microfinancier, lends money at the rate of Rs.10 per square meter to small farmers at a village. He charges an annual interest rate of 10%. All the farming plots in that village are rectangular, with areas varying between a minimum of 1000 square meters and a maximum of 10,000 square meters.
This year, Brijbhushan has lent money only to five farmers: Aditya, Binod, Chhuttan, Dabloo and Govind. The perimeter of Chhuttan’s plot is 250 meters, with the length and width being at a ratio of 4:1. Aditya’s plot has an area three times the area of Govind’s plot. The area of Aditya’s plot is also the average of the areas of Govind’s plot and Dabloo’s plot. The plots belonging to Aditya, Binod and Dabloo are of the same width, but of different lengths. Moreover, the length of Binod’s plot is the sum of the lengths of Aditya’s plot and Dabloo’s plot.- XAT - 2026
- Mensuration
Light Chemicals is an industrial paint supplier with presence in three locations: Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The sunburst chart below shows the distribution of the number of employees of different departments of Light Chemicals. There are four departments: Finance, IT, HR and Sales. The employees are deployed in four ranks: junior, mid, senior and executive. The chart shows four levels: location, department, rank and gender (M: male, F: female). At every level, the number of employees at a location/department/rank/gender are proportional to the corresponding area of the region represented in the chart.
Due to some issues with the software, the data on junior female employees have gone missing. Notice that there are junior female employees in Mumbai HR, Sales and IT departments, Hyderabad HR department, and Bengaluru IT and Finance departments. The corresponding missing numbers are marked u, v, w, x, y and z in the diagram, respectively.
It is also known that:
a) Light Chemicals has a total of 210 junior employees.
b) Light Chemicals has a total of 146 employees in the IT department.
c) Light Chemicals has a total of 777 employees in the Hyderabad office.
d) In the Mumbai office, the number of female employees is 55.
- XAT - 2026
- Pie Charts
An investment company, Win Lose, recruit's employees to trade in the share market. For newcomers, they have a one-year probation period. During this period, the employees are given Rs. 1 lakh per month to invest the way they see fit. They are evaluated at the end of every month, using the following criteria:
1. If the total loss in any span of three consecutive months exceeds Rs. 20,000, their services are terminated at the end of that 3-month period,
2. If the total loss in any span of six consecutive months exceeds Rs. 10,000, their services are terminated at the end of that 6-month period.
Further, at the end of the 12-month probation period, if there are losses on their overall investment, their services are terminated.
Ratan, Shri, Tamal and Upanshu started working for Win Lose in January. Ratan was terminated after 4 months, Shri was terminated after 7 months, Tamal was terminated after 10 months, while Upanshu was not terminated even after 12 months. The table below, partially, lists their monthly profits (in Rs. ‘000’) over the 12-month period, where x, y and z are masked information.
Note:
• A negative profit value indicates a loss.
• The value in any cell is an integer.
Illustration: As Upanshu is continuing after March, that means his total profit during January-March (2z +2z +0) ≥
Rs.20,000. Similarly, as he is continuing after June, his total profit during January − June ≥
Rs.10,000, as well as his total profit during April-June ≥ Rs.10,000.
- XAT - 2026
- Logical and Analytical Reasoning Skills