The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
For nearly a century most psychologists have embraced one view of intelligence. Individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential (I.Q.); this potential is heavily influenced by heredity and difficult to alter; experts in measurement can determine a person's intelligence early in life, currently from paper-and-pencil measures, perhaps eventually from examining the brain in action or even scrutinizing his/her genome. Recently, criticism of this conventional wisdom has mounted. Biologists ask if speaking of a single entity called "intelligence" is coherent and question the validity of measures used to estimate heritability of a trait in humans, who, unlike plants or animals, are not conceived and bred under controlled conditions.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
For nearly a century most psychologists have embraced one view of intelligence. Individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential (I.Q.); this potential is heavily influenced by heredity and difficult to alter; experts in measurement can determine a person's intelligence early in life, currently from paper-and-pencil measures, perhaps eventually from examining the brain in action or even scrutinizing his/her genome. Recently, criticism of this conventional wisdom has mounted. Biologists ask if speaking of a single entity called "intelligence" is coherent and question the validity of measures used to estimate heritability of a trait in humans, who, unlike plants or animals, are not conceived and bred under controlled conditions.
Solution
We need to find what biologists are specifically questioning about the traditional psychology view of intelligence.
From passage: "Biologists ask if speaking of a single entity called 'intelligence' is coherent and question the validity of measures used to estimate heritability of a trait in humans"
The passage shows: Traditional psychology view -> biologists criticize -> two main questions arise
Step 1: Traditional view = intelligence is inherited, measurable, single thing
Step 2: Biologists challenge this -> ask two specific questions
Step 3: Question 1 = Is intelligence even one single entity?
Step 4: Question 2 = Can we properly measure how it's inherited in humans?
Now we need to find which option captures both criticisms accurately:
π Option 1 -> partial-truth -> only mentions being "born with potential" but misses the two key criticisms about single entity and measuring heritability
π Option 2 -> degree-error -> says "immutable" but passage says "difficult to alter" (not impossible). Also misses the specific criticisms biologists made
π’ Option 3 -> correct -> captures both main criticisms: questioning intelligence as "single entity" AND questioning "attempts to estimate heritability"
π΄ Option 4 -> context-shift -> mentions "single entity" correctly but second part "ways in which what is inherited" is confusing and inaccurate - biologists questioned measuring heritability, not inheritance ways
The key confusion students have: Options 3 and 4 both mention "single entity" so they seem similar. But Option 4's second part doesn't match what biologists actually questioned. They questioned measuring heritability, not inheritance itself.