Question

(1) An alien race tracking our TV broadcasts from outer space might conclude that Planet Earth is a great place to visit, but they wouldn't want to live here.
(2) After all, scientific journals are filled with research showing how humans are programmed to compete fiercely and act selfishly in many situations. But until now scientists had not been able to explain why we ever feel compelled to do good deeds, play fair, and cooperate with one another. Put another way, why are people nice so much of the time?
(3) A recent study may hold an answer to that question. Scientists at Emory University in Atlanta say they have discovered that the act of cooperating and being generous with another person lights up the brain in the same way that eating a wonderful dessert or seeing a beautiful face does. In other words, one reason people cooperate with one another is that it feels good.
(4) "Our study shows, for the first time, that social cooperation is intrinsically rewarding to the human brain," said researcher and psychiatrist Gregory S. Berns.
(5) The Emory research team used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines to examine brain activity in 36 women while they played a special laboratory game. MRI scanners can "see" inside the body and display detailed cross sections of any organ on a computer screen. These scanners are usually used to help diagnose diseases or injuries. But researchers have begun using them to track how the brain acts during social interactions such as playing games.
(6) Most of these so-called "brain-imaging" experiments have used men or mixed groups of men and women; that's why the Emory University researchers decided to limit their study to women. For their study activity, the scientists selected Prisoner's Dilemma, a well-known laboratory game that rewards players for cooperating with each other. The more players cooperate, the more money they both make. The Emory scientists knew from previous studies that men and women behave similarly when playing Prisoner's Dilemma; that meant the researchers could safely assume that their brains would react similarly, too.
(7) The experiment was set up this way: Each pair of women met briefly before the game, and then one was placed inside the MRI scanner while the other was seated in another room. The only way they could communicate was by computer. At the start of every round, each woman decided whether she wanted to "cooperate" or "defect." Each player's choice then appeared on the other's screen.
(8) If one woman defected and the second cooperated, the first won $3 while the second got nothing. If both women cooperated, each won $2, but if both women defected, each of them won only $1. After 20 rounds, two women who cooperated could make much more money ($40 each) than two who had "defected" ($20 each). If a player became greedy and went for the $3, she could lose the other player's trust, and both would end up with less money.
(9) The results of the experiment revealed that most of the players made between $30 and $40 after 20 rounds. In other words, as a rule, the women who were allowed to play any strategy decided to work together and cooperate. Even when one player decided to defect at times, it didn't necessarily destroy the partnership. When the researchers studied the scans of the women who cooperated, they saw two pleasure centers of the brain become activated.
(10) According to Dr. Berns, the study "suggests that the altruistic drive to cooperate is biologically imbedded—either genetically programmed or acquired through socialization during childhood and adolescence."
(11) Translation: Maybe we're all a lot nicer than some people would have you think.

Answer 1

The inference is that the authors main purpose is this selection was to C. give information about an experiment on cooperation.

What is an inference?

It should be noted that an inference simply means the conclusion that can be deduced based on the information given in a story.

In this case, it was stated that scientific journals are filled with research showing how humans are programmed to compete fiercely and act selfishly in many situations.

Despite this, scientists had not been able to explain why we ever feel compelled to do good deeds, play fair, and cooperate with one another. Put another way, why are people nice so much of the time.

Therefore, the inference is that the authors main purpose is this selection was to give information about an experiment on cooperation.

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Complete question:

The authors main purpose is this selection was to:

A. compare people who cooperate with those who don't.

B. tell an an entertaining story about an experimental game.

C. give information about an experiment on cooperation.

D. explain how to carry out a scientific experiment.