# PTE Reading MCM #8: Cognitive Perspectives on...

Reading: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers #8 - Level 2 - Feeds Reading

> Read the text and answer the question by choosing all the options that are correct. More than one answer is correct, and a wrong choice costs a point.

The Cognitive Approach, cognitive psychologists assert that our behavior is influenced by our values, by the ways in which we interpret our situations and by choice. For example, people who believe that aggression is necessary and justified-as during wartime-are likely to act aggressively, whereas people who believe that a particular war or act of aggression is unjust, or who think that aggression is never justified, are less likely to behave aggressively. One cognitive theory suggests that aggravating and painful events trigger unpleasant feelings. These feelings, in turn, can lead to aggressive action, but not automatically. Cognitive factors intervene. People decide whether they will act aggressively or not on the basis of factors such as their experiences with aggression and their interpretation of other people's motives. Supporting evidence comes from research showing that aggressive people often distort other people's motives. For example, they assume that other people mean them harm when they do not.

Which of the following exemplified cognitive approach to aggression?

- Aggressive impulses toward people are sometimes expressed in indirect ways.
- Aggressiveness is often useful for individuals in the struggle for survival.
- Aggressive behavior may involve a misunderstanding of other people's intentions.
- The need to express aggressive impulses declines with age.
- Acting aggressively is the result of a choice influenced by a person's values and beliefs.
- Repressing aggressive impulses can result in aggressive behavior.

## Answer

- Aggressive behavior may involve a misunderstanding of other people's intentions.
- Acting aggressively is the result of a choice influenced by a person's values and beliefs.

## Explanation

The correct choices accurately reflect the passage's argument that aggression is a mediated response influenced by individual values and the potential for misinterpreting the intentions of others.

## Hints

- Focus on the section discussing how people decide whether to act aggressively.
- Look for evidence regarding how aggressive individuals perceive the motives of others.

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