Reading Passage Question
Individual studies and experiments the world over have shown that a strong correlation exists between music and mood --- listening to a particular kind of music impacts the mood of the listener. In fact studies have also shown that, in everyday life, music is primarily used for mood and emotion regulation. Indeed, one of the reasons music is able to transcend the barriers of language and garner universal appeal is the emotional response it evokes in its listeners. However, not all people respond similarly to the same kind of music.
A new study shows that listening to the same piece of sad music can actually make some people happy while others sad. Clearly, the difference in the response generated is due to the difference or the lack of the same in the perceived and the induced emotions experienced by the participants. Perceived emotion is defined as the act of sensing the emotional content of the stimuli whereas induced emotion is the emotion felt by the receiver after being subjected to the stimuli.
In the study, the participants with a higher level of exposure to and knowledge of music were the ones who reported being happy after listening to the music, while others reported as being sad. These participants rated the piece of sad music as highly unpleasant on the scale of perceived emotions; however, their induced emotion score was really low for the level of unpleasantness experienced by them and hence did not match with their perceived emotions score. For this reason, these participants felt that they could enjoy the piece of music without feeling sad and hence reported their emotional state as closer to being happy.
However, the findings of the study do not necessarily suggest that the perceived emotion score by the not so musically literate was low. It could just mean that either their perceived and induced emotion scores coincided or that the difference between the two was insignificant.
“Individual studies and experiments the world over have shown that a strong correlation exists between music and mood”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 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.
Solution and Explanation
- The author is primarily concerned with
- debunking a myth about the effect a piece of music has on people
- suggesting how individual knowledge can shape the effect a piece of music has on different people
- discussing various studies that relate to the effect music has on people's mood
- explaining why different personality types respond differently to the same piece of music
- explaining an observed result of a study done on the link between music and mood
Correct Answer: E
Explanation: It is a well-known fact that music and mood go together hand in hand. Whatever your mood is, there is always a piece of suitable music for the same. Music is said to be the healer of heart and soul. There is a strong relation between music and mood. A piece of good music can lift your mood and can also work as a healer in case you are feeling sad and depressed. Music does not have any language. There might be times when you enjoy a piece of melody without understanding a single word. However, not everybody in the world can respond to music in a similar fashion as everybody has different tastes and preferences.
- Which one of the following statements can be derived from the passage?
- People who have a high knowledge of music in general are more likely to distance themselves from the emotional content of a piece of music.
- The emotional response generated in a listener to a piece of music can override the blockages created by the unfamiliar content in it.
- The participants who reported closer to being happy were not actually happy but instead felt no sadness.
- A sad piece of music can easily be used to evoke happiness in listeners.
- The result of the study would surely not have been the same had all the participants had the same background in music.
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: In this passage, the author has tried to emphasize the fact that music does not have to be in a language which can be understood by each and every individual. More than the language, the melody is what matters. A piece of good music can help in overriding all kinds of emotional blockages. An individual thereby opening an all-new different perspective of looking at life from every point of view. There might be times when you do not understand the kind of emotions you are going through which makes you angry and agitated often. Music can help overcome those hidden emotions and give you a fresh perspective on life.
- Which of the following is the function of the final paragraph in the passage?
- To raise a consideration that sheds lights on a possible implication of the finding of the study
- To leave the reader with a thought that is completely in the opposite direction to the preceding discussion
- To prescribe further investigation in to the reasoning behind the offered explanation
- To suggest that the study's findings are ambiguous and hence not reliable
- To rule out the myth that people with higher knowledge of music are also the ones with a better understanding of music
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: The previous paragraph of the passage discusses a study where people who listened to music were very happy as compared to the ones who didn’t do so. The people said that sad music was highly unpleasant when we take into consideration their emotions. The emotional score of people was very low when compared to their unpleasantness and did not coincide with the assumed emotional score. The participants thereby concluded that they could listen to music without feeling sad and said that their emotional score was happy. The study does not say that the people who did not listen to music had low emotional scores. It just meant that the difference between the two was either negligible or assumed and felt emotions coincided.
- Each of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT
- Participants were unaware of the difference between their perceived and induced emotion score.
- The main reason people listen to music in day to day life is to adjust their emotions.
- It is possible that even when the perceived score was high, the participant felt sad after listening to the piece of sad music
- The emotional response to a piece of music with lyrics in an unknown language is partly responsible for the possible enjoyment it offers to its listeners.
- Various studies have shown a causal relationship between music and its effect on the listener's mood.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: There was a study conducted to establish the connection between music and mood. The statement that people did not know the difference between their assumed and actual emotional scores is incorrect as people were aware of the same. They knew and understood the differences between both of them and it is not necessary for each and every individual to listen to music. There was a very negligible difference between people who listened to music and who didn’t. The assumed and actual emotional scores between people who listen to music and who didn’t also coincide at one point. So it is wrong to say that people did not know the difference between assumed and actual emotional scores.
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