GMAT Reading Comprehension - Because the Very Subject Matter of Anthropology is So Volatile

Reading Passage Question

Because the very subject matter of anthropology is so volatile, it’s no surprise that the discipline is frequently embroiled in controversy. Even when social commentators and outside observers fail to criticize the latest anthropological theory on human nature, the social science’s own practitioners are often up in arms over some study or another. Consider Ekman’s landmark study of human emotions in the 1960s.

At the time, the accepted movement in anthropology was relativism. In an effort to rid the discipline of accusations of bias, anthropologists attempted to study cultures as isolated systems. The norms, mores, and practices of each culture were analyzed only in terms of the internal consistency they possessed and any suggestion of judgment was met by howls of outrage by the anthropological establishment. Into this arena came Ekman with his startling heresy; emotions, argued Ekman, were not arbitrary cultural constructs but universal human traits. Ekman had spent years traveling the world, showing people around the globe photographs of other people expressing six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise. Not one person studied by Ekman failed to recognize these emotions, whether the person in the photograph was wearing the suit of a Western businessman or the tribal dress of the Fore foragers of New Guinea.

When Ekman presented his findings at an anthropological conference, he was denounced as a fascist and a racist. Some of his fellow scientists even took his research to prove not that human emotions were universal but that the hegemony of Western culture was so complete that even the most far-flung peoples were socialized into the Western mindset. Ekman was shocked at the reaction. He thought his findings would be evidence of the brotherhood of man, not of the subjugation of the world by the West. And yet, Ekman’s conclusions have been replicated again and again and are now generally accepted in the anthropology community, which apparently is like its subject matter: quick to anger but perhaps slow to admit mistakes.

‘Because the very subject matter of anthropology is so volatile’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions.

The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Questions and Solutions

1. Which of the following most accurately expresses the main idea of the passage?

1. Despite an initial outcry over his work, Ekman was eventually vindicated by the scientific community for his research findings.
2. The anthropological community as a whole is characterized by rigidity and an unwillingness to accept new ideas.
3. Anthropologists take longer to accept controversial ideas about human nature than do scientists in other fields.
4. The anthropological community’s reaction to certain heretical ideas may reflect a basic truth about the nature of the discipline.
5. Ekman’s revolutionary study about the universality of human emotions caused a stir in the anthropological community that reverberates to this day.

2. According to the passage, the results of Ekman’s study were

1. unequivocal in their support of Ekman’s thesis that there are certain emotions that are universally recognized
2. inconclusive, as they may have simply indicated the hegemony of Western culture rather than the universality of human emotions
3. invalid because Ekman only used pictures of Western businessmen and Fore tribesmen
4. inflammatory because Ekman’s personal biases influenced the results
5. limited because Ekman did not carry out enough research to properly draw the conclusion he reached

3. The passage suggests which of the following about anthropology?

1. For much of the discipline’s history it was often charged with making racist assumptions about the value of other cultures’ practices.
2. The relativist approach is no longer employed by modern anthropologists.
3. At one time, anthropologists evaluated cultures based on a culture’s relationships to other cultures in the world.
4. Members of the anthropological community are more sensitive to accusations of bias than are the members of other disciplines.
5. Anthropologists believe that the prevalence of Western cultural norms represents a threat to indigenous peoples around the world.

4. Ekman’s experiences with the anthropological community as detailed in the passage are most analogous to which of the following?

1. an inventor who must discard hundreds of failed models before eventually discovering one that works
2. a scientist who withdraws his research after his colleagues attack the ethics of his experimental design
3. a literary critic who challenges the accepted practices of his discipline and ends up developing a new paradigm for textual analysis
4. a painter whose revolutionary work is met by opposition from his peers but eventually gains mainstream acceptance
5. an architect who proposes building a structure unlike any other but is forced to change his plans after his coworkers object

5. The author states “At the time…was relativism,” in the second paragraph in order to

1. explain why the discipline was plagued by accusations of bias
2. support the criticisms of Ekman’s work made by his colleagues
3. indicate a possible reason that Ekman’s results were met with such outrage
4. describe an important moment in the evolution of the anthropological discipline
5. argue that if anthropologists wanted to be respected as a scientists, they would need to revise their methods

6. The author’s attitude toward the anthropological community’s reaction to Ekman’s work is best described as one of

1. anger at the community’s shortsightedness
2. understanding of the community’s character
3. disappointment at the community’s treatment of Ekman
4. agreement with the community’s righteous indignation
5. puzzlement at the community’s eventual acceptance of Ekman’s work.

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