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

1. The author is primarily concerned with

1. debunking a myth about the effect a piece of music has on people
2. suggesting how individual knowledge can shape the effect a piece of music has on different people
3. discussing various studies that relate to the effect music has on people's mood
4. explaining why different personality types respond differently to the same piece of music
5. explaining an observed result of a study done on the link between music and mood

2. Which one of the following statements can be derived from the passage?

1. 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.
2. The emotional response generated in a listener to a piece of music can override the blockages created by the unfamiliar content in it.
3. The participants who reported closer to being happy were not actually happy but instead felt no sadness.
4. A sad piece of music can easily be used to evoke happiness in listeners.
5. The result of the study would surely not have been the same had all the participants had the same background in music.

3. Which of the following is the function of the final paragraph in the passage?

1. To raise a consideration that sheds lights on a possible implication of the finding of the study
2. To leave the reader with a thought that is completely in the opposite direction to the preceding discussion
3. To prescribe further investigation in to the reasoning behind the offered explanation
4. To suggest that the study's findings are ambiguous and hence not reliable
5. To rule out the myth that people with higher knowledge of music are also the ones with a better understanding of music

4. Each of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT

1. Participants were unaware of the difference between their perceived and induced emotion score.
2. The main reason people listen to music in day to day life is to adjust their emotions.
3. It is possible that even when the perceived score was high, the participant felt sad after listening to the piece of sad music
4. 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.
5. Various studies have shown a causal relationship between music and its effect on the listener's mood.

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