TEXTO DE APOIO (clique para abrir / fechar)
YOUNG MALE SYNDROME
Psychologists Margo Wilson and Martin Daly have invented a term for the phenomenon of young men constantly getting into trouble, calling it “young male syndrome.”
There are harmless and less harmless examples of this. In the United States, for example, researchers examined 1,200 patients in 100 hospitals who had injured their hands because they had punched [socado] a wall. Almost all of them were men between 15 and 24. A British study found that the automobile drivers least likely to wear a seat belt when a male passenger was present were men under 25. Apparently such individuals want at some level to impress the male passengers with their fearlessness [destemor, coragem]. An experiment in America observed men crossing roads. If a woman was standing nearby, men under 20 allowed the cars to come three times closer than otherwise, as if they wanted to show how brave they were.
This behavior manifests itself not only in risky everyday decisions, but also in serious violence. Around the world, 90% of murders are committed by men. Moreover, most murder victims are also men. Interestingly, the proportions are almost the same among young male chimpanzees. And it is always the young men, between 15 and 24, who are most at risk of becoming either perpetrators or victims. Why is that?
Forty years ago, psychologists Wilson and Daly investigated violent crime in Detroit for their paper [artigo, estudo] on young male syndrome. They identified “the tendency of young men between 15 and 24 toward competitive behavior, risk-taking, and violence from an evolutionary psychological perspective” and concluded that behaving dominantly in primitive societies made sense from a biological point of view. The Cambridge University psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen once wrote: “In evolutionary terms, the bravest and most skilled fighters in male-male competition would have earned the highest social status in primitive societies, and thus secured the most wives and offspring [prole].”
Young men are clearly still carrying this evolutionary legacy [legado] with them. In the past, bravado was a survival advantage that even led to better chances of mating [acasalamento] successfully. Today, in extreme cases, it offers a direct route to conflict, crime, and prison.
Adapted from the Swiss newspaper NZZ, March 12, 2025People who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals in groups. Thus, it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem.
QUESTĂO
What does the information in the passage most likely suggest about young men in the 15-to-24-year age group?
Worldwide, if a person murders or is murdered, that person tends to be a man in that age group.
In urban environments, men in that age group are inevitably victims of their own biologically motivated toxic masculinity.
Like all primates seeking to demonstrate their power, men in that age group are unable to avoid risky, life-threatening situations.
When together in a group, young men between 15 and 24 will take risks that they would never take if they were alone.
PMen in that age group often take risks as a form of rebellion against authority figures, especially if those authority figures are women.
đ Gabarito (clique para revelar)
đ§ QUESTĂO COMENTADA | PADRĂO B3GE™ | LĂngua Inglesa | Q.34
đ§ Leitura orientada
A questĂŁo pede a inferĂȘncia mais adequada a partir das informaçÔes estatĂsticas e explicativas apresentadas no texto sobre o chamado young male syndrome. Ă necessĂĄrio identificar a alternativa que sintetiza corretamente os dados globais fornecidos pelo autor.
đ Identificação das informaçÔes-chave
O texto afirma que, em escala mundial, 90% dos homicĂdios sĂŁo cometidos por homens e que a maioria das vĂtimas tambĂ©m Ă© masculina. AlĂ©m disso, destaca que os indivĂduos entre 15 e 24 anos sĂŁo os mais propensos a se tornarem tanto agressores quanto vĂtimas desse tipo de violĂȘncia.
đ§ NĂșcleo de sentido
Com base nesses dados, o texto sugere que, quando ocorre um homicĂdio, hĂĄ uma forte probabilidade de que o autor ou a vĂtima pertença ao grupo de homens jovens entre 15 e 24 anos. Trata-se de uma conclusĂŁo estatĂstica, nĂŁo de um juĂzo moral ou comportamental.
đ AnĂĄlise alternativa por alternativa (com pegadinhas)
(A) ✅ Correta — GABARITO
A alternativa sintetiza fielmente o texto:
em escala mundial, quem comete ou sofre homicĂdio
tende a ser um homem entre 15 e 24 anos,
grupo mais envolvido nesses eventos.
(B) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto nĂŁo utiliza o conceito de
“toxic masculinity” nem afirma inevitabilidade do fenĂŽmeno
em ambientes urbanos.
(C) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto nĂŁo afirma que jovens homens
sejam incapazes de evitar riscos,
apenas que apresentam maior propensĂŁo a eles.
(D) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: embora o grupo influencie o comportamento,
o texto nĂŁo afirma que esses riscos
jamais seriam assumidos quando estĂŁo sozinhos.
(E) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: não hå menção a rebeldia contra figuras
de autoridade, nem recorte de gĂȘnero nesse sentido.
đ§ Resumo B3GE™ Master
✔ O texto apresenta dados globais sobre violĂȘncia.
✔ Jovens homens concentram maior participação como autores e vĂtimas.
✔ A alternativa correta traduz essa tendĂȘncia estatĂstica.
đ Gabarito confirmado: (A)