Question

Which, according to the author, would qualify as interesting psychology?

(2005)

• A. A statistician's dilemma over choosing the best method to solve an optimization problem.
• B. A chess player's predicament over adopting a defensive strategy against an aggressive opponent.
• C. A mountaineer's choice of the best path to Mt Everest from the base camp.
• D. A finance manager's quandary over the best way of raising money from the market.

Answer 1

The correct option is B A chess player's predicament over adopting a defensive strategy against an aggressive opponent.

Option: (b)

In the last two lines of the fourth paragraph, the author mentions that 'chess may be psychologically interesting but only to the extent that it is played not quite rationally'. Answer choice (b) talks of exactly one such incident wherein one of the players plays irrationally thus making it the correct answer choice.

Para 1:

· Game of strategy: situation in which 2 or more players make choices among available alternatives.

· Totality of choices determines the outcome of the game, and it is assumed that the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for different players.

· "Interests" of players are generally in conflict.

· Whether these interests are diametrically opposed or only partially opposed depends on the type of the game.

Para 2:

· Most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly co-incident and partly opposed.

· Each is torn between a tendency to co-operate, so as to promote the common interests, and a tendency to compete, so as to enhance his own individual interests.

Para 3:

· Inner conflict is also held to be an important component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres.

· Classical tragedy and serious novels: talk of inner conflict.

· Superficial adventure story: talks of external conflict.

· On the most primitive level, this sort of external conflict is psychologically empty.

Para 4:

· A great deal of interest in the plots of these stories is sustained by withholding the unraveling of a solution to a problem.

· The effort of solving the problem is in itself not a conflict if the adversary remains passive.

· If the adversary actively puts obstacles in the path towards the solution, there is conflict.

· Conflict is psychologically interesting only to the extent that it contains irrational components.

· Conflicts conducted in a perfectly rational manner are psychologically no more interesting.

Para 5:

· A pure conflict of interest although it offers a wealth of interesting problems, is not interesting psychologically, except to the extent that its conduct departs from rational norms.