CAT 2020 Question Paper | VARC Slot 2

CAT Questions

Para Summary is a part of the Verbal ability section(VA) of the CAT Exam. Many will be very sceptical to attempt para summary as it carries negative marking but if done right, it will fetch you additional marks. The best way to approach para summary is to try and eliminate all the extreme/exaggerated options. This is an easy to medium level question. The paragraph talks about human decisions. Go through the question and see if you can solve it without looking at the text and video solution provided.
To practice more such para summary questions, check out our 2IIM's CAT Question Bank. If you want to have a daily reading recommendation, check out Bharath's Reading List.

Question 22 : The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

All humans make decisions based on one or a combination of two factors. This is either intuition or information. Decisions made through intuition are usually fast, people don’t even think about the problem. It is quite philosophical, meaning that someone who made a decision based on intuition will have difficulty explaining the reasoning behind it. The decision-maker would often utilize her senses in drawing conclusions, which again is based on some experience in the field of study. On the other side of the spectrum, we have decisions made based on information. These decisions are rational — it is based on facts and figures, which unfortunately also means that it can be quite slow. The decision-maker would frequently use reports, analyses, and indicators to form her conclusion. This methodology results in accurate, quantifiable decisions, meaning that a person can clearly explain the rationale behind it.

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Video Explanation

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Explanatory Answer

The given paragraph compares intuitive decisions to decisions made based on information, in terms of the speed of decision-making and the ability of the decision maker to explain the rationale behind the decision. Option D captures the essence of the paragraph. Options A and C are limited to intuitive decisions and decisions based on information respectively. Option B does not cover the idea of the ability of the decision maker to explain the rationale behind the decision.

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The answer is, "Decisions based on intuition and information result in differential speed and ability to provide a rationale."