A clutch of new studies in the field of the psychology of emotion offers opportunities for humans to have better control over their emotions. Unfortunately, some other research has proven conclusively that certain emotions that are triggered spontaneously, most notable among them being anger, are often accompanied by the release of various types of chemicals and hormones. These chemicals and hormones, interestingly, help to further sustain the emotional outburst. To take an example, anger causes the release of adrenaline, and this adrenaline further helps to sustain, and even magnify, that aroused state of anger. To make matters worse, the rate of dissipation of this adrenaline is not within the control of the conscious human mind. Hence, when such emotions get triggered, they tend to circumvent our conscious mind, a fact that has several vital implications for emotional impulse control.

The solution then is to somehow be able to avoid setting off such impulses that are beyond the control of our conscious mind, something that is easier said than done. One way of doing so is to get a better understanding of how we perceive different events around us. The idea is to view everything with an objective mindset and avoid the ‘jumping to conclusions’ syndrome, which can trigger these unwanted impulses. To illustrate, it is possible for two people to view the same event but reach entirely different conclusions about its connotation. Let’s say if we see a group of people pointing in our direction and laughing, many of us will misconstrue such an act, thinking that those people are laughing at us and become irritated or angry. Such a reaction could then trigger the adrenaline-fuelled anger, and we could even end up getting into a fight with those people. However, a smarter, and less impulsive, approach could be to simply view the event for what it is—a group of people pointing at something and laughing. For all we know, they could be pointing at something behind us. Such people will not jump to conclusions; rather, they will wait for more clarity on the actions of those people before coming up with a reaction. Remember that even though we cannot control the activities of those people, we can always control our reaction to their actions, by addressing them calmly or even simply ignoring them.

1. According to the passage, in which of the following hypothetical cases would a person be able to consciously control his or her emotions?

i. If a person becomes angry at the slightest of provocations but no hormone is released.
ii. If a person consumes a recently developed drug that greatly increases the rate of dissipation of hormones in the human body.
iii. If a person is taking a medication that prevents the release of adrenaline in the human body.

(A) ii and iii only
(B) i and ii only
(C) iii only
(D) ii only
(E) i, ii and iii


2. According to the passage, a rational person differs from a highly impulsive person in that:

(A) a rational person’s body produces a controllable amount of hormones.
(B) a rational person is able to better control his judgment of events.
(C) a rational person does not let his hormones affect his emotions.
(D) a rational person does not allow emotions to bypass his conscious mind.
(E) a rational person has no less a tendency to jump to conclusions.


3. What is the meaning of the word ‘misconstrue’ as used in the passage (paragraph two)?

(A) Mislead
(B) Misdemeanor
(C) Misguide
(D) Misinterpret
(E) Misrepresent


4. Why does the author use the term 'unfortunately' in the second sentence of the passage?

(A) To underscore the inherent sorrow that a person who is unable to contain his emotions, faces.
(B) To provide a contrast with the previous sentence by stating that in some cases a person may not be able to voluntarily control his emotions in the first place.
(C) To assert that a person not being able to contain his emotions is not the desired state of affairs.
(D) To conclude that all the efforts of researchers have gone in vain because there is actually a connection between hormones and emotions.
(E) To arrive at a conclusion about the relationship between hormones and emotions later in the passage.