Competitive Exam Special: Question of the Day: 15th Oct

The question below contains a paragraph followed by alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the text. That people have personalities goes without saying. There are the shy, the cruel, the kind, and the sceptical. And, it is hardly uncommon to hear a dog described as friendly or inquisitive. Scientific research has confirmed that dogs do indeed have personality traits similar to those found in people. In dogs, for instance, these are usually referred to as energy-level, affection-aggression, anxiety-calmness and intelligence-stupidity; in people they are extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience and conscientiousness. Yet in spite of all this, rather little has been done to find out if such characteristics exist in wild animals. Studies in Animal Behaviour show not only that some do but also that the presence of such traits is skewing the way data is collected by researchers. OPTIONS 1) People and animals have personalities, but animal personalities are not recognized by scientific research. 2) Animals have personalities like humans. However scientific research so far has either ignored them or is biased against them. 3) Animals have personalities the way people have. However, scientific research in animal behaviour is not only inadequate but also biased. 4) Dogs have personalities just like people. However, scientific research ignores wild animals, and the data collected about animal behaviour by scientific research is skewed. 5) Scientific research has established that dogs have personality traits like those of people. Wild animal behaviour is not adequately studied and data collected is skewed.

Solution

Option 1 is ridiculous in ‘animal personalities are not recognised’ ( as if there are animal celebrities). Option 2 is ridiculous in “Animals have personalities like humans”- they do not have personality like humans but they have personality traits the way humans have personality traits. The option states animals are like humans. Options 4 and 5 are equally ridiculous for the incorrect comparison made between people and animals.Dogs do not have personalities or personality traits like humans but rather they have personality traits the same way as humans have personality traits. Option 3 captures the essence of the paragraph perfectly and succintly. Hence, the correct answer is option 3.