Book Review: The Happiness Industry: reading answers and analysis
A review of William Davies's book on how the 'science of happiness' came about. The reviewer attacks positive psychology as crude and ignorant of philosophy, traces it to Jeremy Bentham's inventions and his idea of measuring pleasure with money, and criticises Watson's behaviourism. He ends by warning that governments promoting happiness threaten freedom.
The multiple choice (27-29) covers Paragraphs 2 to 4 in order. The summary (30-34) is Bentham's inventions in Paragraph 3 and his measuring idea in Paragraph 4. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (35-40) is in Paragraphs 5 and 6.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: The reviewer's opinions are strong, so read the adjectives (crude, oblivious, illiterate). Two options misread how the advocates relate to Bentham: they follow him without knowing it. Aristotle is there as a contrast with Bentham's pleasure-and-pain view.
Question 27
Answer: DParagraph 2
How does the reviewer see the supporters of positive psychology?
Those who think in this way are oblivious to the vast philosophical literature in which the meaning and value of happiness have been explored and questioned
Question says → Passage says
They are ignorant aboutare oblivious to / illiterate in the history of ideas
the ideas they should be consideringthe vast philosophical literature
Why: D. The reviewer calls them 'oblivious' to centuries of thinking on happiness and 'illiterate in the history of ideas'. That's ignorance of what they ought to know.
The trap: A and B both get Bentham wrong. They don't reject him, they 'follow in his tracks', and they aren't over-influenced by studying him, because they know almost nothing 'of him'. C is the opposite of 'crude and simple-minded'.
Question 28
Answer: AParagraph 2, middle
Why does the reviewer bring up Aristotle?
For Bentham it was obvious that the human good consists of pleasure and the absence of pain. The Greek philosopher Aristotle may have identified happiness with self-realisation
Question says → Passage says
may not be just pleasure and the absence of painthe human good consists of pleasure and the absence of pain… identified happiness with self-realisation
Why: A. Bentham says happiness is pleasure without pain. Aristotle is mentioned straight after as someone who saw it differently, as self-realisation. So happiness may be more than pleasure.
The trap: B tempts because thinkers 'struggled to reconcile' happiness with other values, but nobody says happiness shouldn't be the main goal. D twists 'metaphysics or fiction', which is Bentham's dismissal, not the reviewer's point.
Question 29
Answer: BParagraph 4, last sentence
Why did Bentham's money-and-pleasure idea matter, according to Davies?
Bentham 'set the stage for the entangling of psychological research and capitalism that would shape the business practices of the twentieth century'
Question says → Passage says
significant becauseset the stage for
a connection between work and psychologythe entangling of psychological research and capitalism… business practices
Why: B. Linking money to inner experience started the mixing of psychology with capitalism and business. Business and capitalism stand for the world of work here.
The trap: A tempts because Bentham preferred the money method, but nothing says it worked or came first. C is wrong because the passage says it set the stage for psychological research, not that it was a successful example of it.
Summary completion (word list A-G)
Questions 30-34
How to attack this block: Every option is an abstract noun, so match each invention to its purpose: tubes linking departments, notes that can't be forged, a store that keeps food fresh, a prison where guards see everyone, and a way of putting numbers on happiness. 'Implementation' and 'profits' are distractors.
Question 30
Answer: FParagraph 3, fifth sentence
What did Bentham's tubes aim to improve between government departments?
he wrote to the Home Office suggesting that the departments of government be linked together through a set of 'conversation tubes'
Question says → Passage says
a type of technologya set of 'conversation tubes'
for different Government departmentsthe departments of government be linked together
Why: F, communication. Tubes for conversation that link departments together are there to improve communication between them.
The trap: C (implementation) sounds official and governmental, but it means putting a plan into action. The tubes were about talking.
Question 31
Answer: BParagraph 3, fifth sentence
What did Bentham's banknote printer increase?
to the Bank of England with a design for a printing device that could produce unforgeable banknotes
Question says → Passage says
a new way of printing banknotesa printing device
to increasethat could produce unforgeable
Why: B, security. 'Unforgeable' means they can't be copied by criminals, which makes the notes more secure.
The trap: D (profits) tempts because banks and money go together, but the device was about stopping fakes, not making money.
Question 32
Answer: GParagraph 3, sixth sentence
What was Bentham's food invention for?
He drew up plans for a 'frigidarium' to keep provisions such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables fresh.
Question says → Passage says
a method for the… of foodto keep provisions… fresh
Why: G, preservation. Keeping food fresh is preserving it.
The trap: E (observation) and A (measurement) are both nouns ending '-tion' that fit the grammar, but neither matches keeping food fresh.
Question 33
Answer: EParagraph 3, seventh sentence
What did the prison design allow guards to do at all times?
in which prisoners would be kept in solitary confinement while being visible at all times to the guards
Question says → Passage says
allowed the… of prisoners at all timesbeing visible at all times to the guards
the same design could be used for other institutionsapplied to schools and factories
Why: E, observation. Prisoners were visible to guards at all times, so they could be watched constantly.
The trap: C (implementation) catches people because the design was 'very nearly adopted'. That's about whether it was built, not what it allowed.
Question 34
Answer: AParagraph 4, second sentence
What about happiness did Bentham investigate?
If happiness is to be regarded as a science, it has to be measured, and Bentham suggested two ways in which this might be done.
Question says → Passage says
investigated possibilities for itsit has to be measured
suggested some methods of doing thissuggested two ways in which this might be done
Why: A, measurement. Bentham said happiness must be measured and proposed two ways: pulse rate and money.
The trap: E (observation) is close in meaning, and the pulse method sounds like watching the body, but the passage's word is 'measured', and both methods are about quantifying.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 35-40
How to attack this block: Separate the reviewer's own views from the views he reports. Layard thinks government should promote happiness; the reviewer thinks it threatens freedom. The NOT GIVEN statements make comparisons (harder emotions, governments outside America) that the review never makes.
Question 35
Answer: YESParagraph 5, first two sentences
Does the reviewer praise the book for how it handles psychology and economics?
We learn much that is interesting about how economic problems are being redefined and treated as psychological maladies.
Question says → Passage says
One strengthWe learn much that is interesting
the relationship between psychology and economicseconomic problems are being redefined and treated as psychological maladies / integral to capitalism
Why: YES. The reviewer says we learn 'much that is interesting' about economic problems being treated as psychological ones, which is praise for that part of the book.
The trap: The reviewer criticises Davies once (missing a point about the Panopticon), so some people assume the attitude is negative. On this point it's positive.
Question 36
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 5, third sentence
Does the reviewer say some emotions are harder to measure than others?
Davies shows how the belief that inner states of pleasure and displeasure can be objectively measured has informed management studies and advertising
Question says → Passage says
measure… emotionsinner states of pleasure and displeasure can be objectively measured
Why: NOT GIVEN. The passage talks about measuring pleasure and displeasure in general. It never compares how hard different emotions are to measure.
The trap: The reviewer is clearly doubtful about measuring happiness at all, which can push you to YES. Doubt about measuring isn't a claim that some emotions are harder than others.
Question 37
Answer: NOParagraph 5, fifth and sixth sentences
Did Watson base his ideas on research with humans before 1915?
When he became president of the American Psychological Association in 1915, he 'had never even studied a single human being': his research had been confined to experiments on white rats.
Question says → Passage says
research on humanshad never even studied a single human being
before 1915When he became president… in 1915
Why: NO. By 1915 Watson had 'never even studied a single human being'. His work was only on rats, and the reviewer adds he 'had no factual basis' for his view.
Question 38
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 5, last sentence
Have Watson's ideas influenced governments outside America most?
Yet Watson's reductive model is now widely applied, with 'behaviour change' becoming the goal of governments: in Britain, a 'Behaviour Insights Team' has been established
Question says → Passage says
influential on governmentswidely applied, with 'behaviour change' becoming the goal of governments
Why: NOT GIVEN. Britain is given as one example of a government using his ideas. Nothing compares Britain or other countries with America.
The trap: Britain is the only country named, so it feels like the main one. One example isn't a ranking, and 'most' needs a comparison.
Question 39
Answer: YESParagraph 6, first sentence
Is the need for happiness tied to industrialisation?
Modern industrial societies appear to need the possibility of ever-increasing happiness to motivate them in their labours.
Question says → Passage says
The need for happinessneed the possibility of ever-increasing happiness
linked to industrialisationModern industrial societies
Why: YES. The writer says modern industrial societies need the promise of more and more happiness to keep them working. That links the need for happiness to industrial life.
The trap: 'Appear to' can make you hesitate, but it's still the writer's claim. A cautious claim is still a claim.
Question 40
Answer: NOParagraph 6, last sentence
Should raising people's happiness be a main job of government?
the idea that governments should be responsible for promoting happiness is always a threat to human freedom
Question says → Passage says
A main aim of government should be to increase the happinessgovernments should be responsible for promoting happiness
Why: NO. The writer calls the idea 'always a threat to human freedom'. That's a direct rejection.
The trap: Paragraph 1 says the purpose of government is collective well-being, but that's Layard's view, which the reviewer then attacks. Always check whose opinion a sentence gives.
E, observation. Prisoners were 'visible at all times'. 'Implementation' tempts because the design was very nearly adopted.
Words from this passage worth keeping
self-evident(Paragraph 1)
obvious without needing proof
crude(Paragraph 2)
simple and lacking subtlety
oblivious(Paragraph 2)
completely unaware
lucid(Paragraph 3)
clear and easy to understand
unforgeable(Paragraph 3)
impossible to copy illegally
maladies(Paragraph 5)
illnesses or problems
reductive(Paragraph 5)
making something complex seem too simple
pedigree(Paragraph 6)
history and background
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The full Cambridge 13 Test 4 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
