PrepTest 141, Section 3, Question 15
Passage A Research concerning happiness and wealth reveals(487 more words not shown)
Passage A(297 more words not shown)
Passage B(198 more words not shown)
Both passages are primarily concerned(7 more words not shown)
- Athe human desire(3 more words not shown)
- Bthe relationship between(3 more words not shown)
- Cthe biological basis(5 more words not shown)
- Dthe human propensity(5 more words not shown)
- Ethe concept of(2 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Both read-throughs connect money with happiness. A explains why relative position and rising expectations matter more than increasing wealth alone. B explains why relative prosperity can bring satisfaction: people take it as evidence that they have created value.
What we’re looking for
The shared subject must be broad enough to include both explanations. Something discussed in just one account cannot be the primary concern of both.
Working the answers
- A
Creating value is B's explanation for the desire for relative prosperity. A does not offer that motive. This captures the conclusion of one account while leaving the other's analysis out.
- BCorrect
A examines why richer individuals can be happier even though richer societies do not necessarily become happier. B explains how income relates to happiness through perceived success. Different explanations fit within the same shared topic.
- C
Only B considers a biological explanation, and it prefers another account. A's comparisons and habituation are not presented as a theory of biological origins. Mentioning human behavior does not by itself supply a biological basis.
- D
Habituation is one of A's two mechanisms. B does not explain how people get used to wealth; its argument concerns what relative prosperity signifies to them.
- E
Required income is A's example of the rising standard people use to judge what they have. B does not develop that concept, and even in A it supports a broader explanation of income and happiness.
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