Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics. The bagel data also reflect how much personal mood seems to af
fect honesty. Weather, for instance, is a major factor. Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay at a higher rate. Unseasonably cold weather, meanwhile, makes people cheat prolifically; so do heavy rain and wind. Worst are the holidays. The week of Christmas produces a 2 percent drop in payment rates—again, a 15 percent increase in theft, an effect on the same magnitude, in reverse, as that of 9/11. Thanksgiving is nearly as bad; the week of Valentine’s Day is also lousy, as is the week straddling April 15. There are, however, a few good holidays: the weeks that include the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The difference in the two sets of holidays? The low-cheating holidays represent little more than an extra day off from work. The high-cheating holidays are fraught with miscellaneous anxieties and the high expectations of loved ones. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this paragraph? answer: A.) different emotional states affect people's honesty
A.) different emotional states affect people's honesty
Thoughout the passage the author uses examples to show how different emotional states affect people's honesty. He uses examples of how people pay during different weather and times of the year. Weather and holidays that cause the most stress and anxiety result in people becoming more dishonest. Good weather and holidays that relieve stress because there are no added pressures result in people being more generous with pay.
