The study, which appears in the current issue of Science, was led by Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard and author of the 2007 bestseller “Stumbling on Happiness,” along with Matthew Killingsworth and Rebecca Eyre, also of Harvard, and Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia.
“If you want to know how much you will enjoy an experience, you are better off knowing how much someone else enjoyed it than knowing anything about the experience itself,” says Gilbert. “Rather than closing our eyes and the future, we should examine the experience of those who have been there. Previous research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural economics has shown that people have difficulty predicting what they will like and how much they will like it, which them to make a wide variety of poor decisions. Interventions aimed at the accuracy with which people imagine future events have been generally unsuccessful.
Result:
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Correct answer: informative
Explanation: The word 'informative' fits grammatically as it describes the nature of another person's experience, suggesting it provides valuable information. Contextually, it aligns with the idea that insights from others can enhance understanding, making it more relevant than personal guesses.
Meaning: 'Informative' means providing useful or interesting information, indicating that the experiences of others can offer better insights than one's own assumptions.
Wrong options:
- suggestive: Suggestive implies hinting at something rather than providing clear information, which does not fit the context of gaining knowledge from others' experiences.
- collective: Collective refers to a group rather than individual experiences, making it less relevant in this context where personal insights are being compared.
- corrective: Corrective suggests making something right or correcting errors, which does not align with the idea of gaining knowledge from experiences.
Correct answer: imagining
Explanation: The verb 'imagining' is grammatically correct as it fits the structure of the sentence, indicating a mental process. Contextually, it aligns with the idea of envisioning future experiences, which is what the sentence discusses.
Meaning: 'Imagining' means forming a mental image or concept of something that is not present, which relates to predicting future enjoyment of experiences.
Wrong options:
- rising: Rising refers to an increase in level or position, which does not fit the context of envisioning future experiences.
- brightening: Brightening implies making something brighter or more cheerful, which is unrelated to the act of envisioning or predicting experiences.
- lighting: Lighting refers to the illumination of a space, which does not connect to the mental process of imagining future events.
Correct answer: leads
Explanation: The word 'leads' is the correct form of the verb that fits grammatically in the present tense, indicating a cause-and-effect relationship. Contextually, it suggests that the difficulty in predicting enjoyment results in poor decision-making.
Meaning: 'Leads' means to cause or result in something, indicating that the inability to predict enjoyment causes poor decisions.
Wrong options:
- leds: 'Leds' is a past tense form and does not fit the present context of the ongoing issue of prediction difficulties.
- reads: 'Reads' implies interpreting written text, which does not relate to the context of predicting enjoyment from experiences.
- spreads: 'Spreads' suggests distribution or expansion, which does not connect to the cause of poor decision-making.
Correct answer: improving
Explanation: The word 'improving' is a gerund that fits grammatically as it describes the action of enhancing accuracy. Contextually, it aligns with the goal of making better predictions about future events.
Meaning: 'Improving' means making something better, indicating efforts to enhance the accuracy of predictions about future experiences.
Wrong options:
- grating: Grating refers to a harsh sound or a process of shredding, which does not fit the context of enhancing prediction accuracy.
- supervising: Supervising implies overseeing or managing, which is unrelated to the concept of enhancing prediction accuracy.
- rising: Rising suggests an increase in level or position, which does not connect to the goal of improving accuracy.
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