Book Review — IELTS Reading Answers

What is the reviewer’s attitude to advocates of positive psychology?

1. AThey are wrong to reject the ideas of Bentham.
2. BThey are over-influenced by their study of Bentham’s theories.
3. CThey have a fresh new approach to ideas on human happiness.
4. DThey are ignorant about the ideas they should be considering.correct

“Those who think in this way are oblivious to the vast philosophical literature in which the meaning and value of happiness have been explored and questioned”

D: the reviewer says such advocates are 'oblivious to the vast philosophical literature' on happiness, so they ignore ideas they should consider.

The reviewer refers to the Greek philosopher Aristotle in order to suggest that happiness

1. Amay not be just pleasure and the absence of pain.correct
2. Bshould not be the main goal of humans.
3. Cis not something that should be fought for.
4. Dis not just an abstract concept.

“For Bentham it was obvious that the human good consists of pleasure and the absence of pain. The Greek philosopher Aristotle may have identified happiness with self-realisation in the 4th century BC”

A: Aristotle 'identified happiness with self-realisation', unlike Bentham's pleasure-and-absence-of-pain formula, suggesting happiness is more than pleasure.

According to Davies, Bentham’s suggestion for linking the price of goods to happiness was significant because

1. Ait was the first successful way of assessing happiness.
2. Bit established a connection between work and psychology.correct
3. Cit was the first successful example of psychological research.
4. Dit involved consideration of the rights of consumers.

“By associating money so closely to inner experience, Davies writes, Bentham ‘set the stage for the entangling of psychological research and capitalism that would shape the business practices of the twentieth century’”

B: Davies says Bentham's pricing idea 'set the stage for the entangling of psychological research and capitalism', linking commerce with psychology.

“In the 1790s, he wrote to the Home Office suggesting that the departments of government be linked together through a set of ‘conversation tubes’”

F: Bentham proposed linking government departments through a set of 'conversation tubes', the communications idea labelled F.

“and to the Bank of England with a design for a printing device that could produce unforgeable banknotes”

B: he sent the Bank of England 'a design for a printing device that could produce unforgeable banknotes', the currency invention in B.

“He drew up plans for a ‘frigidarium’ to keep provisions such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables fresh”

G: Bentham drew up plans for a 'frigidarium' to keep meat, fish, fruit and vegetables fresh, the refrigeration design in G.

“His celebrated design for a prison to be known as a ‘Panopticon’, in which prisoners would be kept in solitary confinement while being visible at all times to the guards, was very nearly adopted”

E: his 'Panopticon' prison kept prisoners in solitary confinement while visible to guards, which is the prison design in E.

“If happiness is to be regarded as a science, it has to be measured, and Bentham suggested two ways in which this might be done”

A: Bentham suggested 'two ways' happiness might be measured, so the measurement proposal is A.

One strength of The Happiness Industry is its discussion of the relationship between psychology and economics.

“The Happiness Industry describes how the project of a science of happiness has become integral to capitalism. We learn much that is interesting about how economic problems are being redefined and treated as psychological maladies.”

YES: the review praises how the book shows 'economic problems are being redefined and treated as psychological maladies', a genuine strength of its analysis.

It is more difficult to measure some emotions than others.

“Davies shows how the belief that inner states of pleasure and displeasure can be objectively measured has informed management studies and advertising”

NOT GIVEN: the book discusses measuring inner states objectively, but never compares how difficult it is to measure different emotions.

Watson’s ideas on behaviourism were supported by research on humans he carried out before 1915.

“Watson had no factual basis for his view of human action. When he became president of the American Psychological Association in 1915, he ‘had never even studied a single human being’”

NO: by 1915 Watson 'had never even studied a single human being', so his behaviourism lacked human research support.

Watson’s ideas have been most influential on governments outside America.

“Watson’s reductive model is now widely applied, with ‘behaviour change’ becoming the goal of governments”

NOT GIVEN: the text says governments widely pursue 'behaviour change', but never claims Watson's influence is greatest outside America.

The need for happiness is linked to industrialisation.

“Modern industrial societies appear to need the possibility of ever-increasing happiness to motivate them in their labours”

YES: the reviewer notes 'modern industrial societies appear to need the possibility of ever-increasing happiness to motivate them in their labours'.

A main aim of government should be to increase the happiness of the population.

“the idea that governments should be responsible for promoting happiness is always a threat to human freedom”

NO: the reviewer says ‘the idea that governments should be responsible for promoting happiness is always a threat to human freedom’, rejecting it as a main aim.