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.
QUESTÃO
According to the information in the passage, why did young men in primitive societies most likely engage in behavior related to dominance and fearlessness?
Men who showed dominance and fearlessness were more likely to form lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with women.
The bravest, most dominant men were honored and respected and therefore gained more sexual access to women.
A successful warrior could lead a group of young men to steal women from neighboring tribes and thus have a sure way to produce offspring.
In primitive societies, the only way for any man to survive and prosper was through the intelligent, strategic use of violence.
In primitive societies characterized by short life expectancies, men and women had to start producing offspring at a young age.
🔐 Gabarito (clique para revelar)
🧠 QUESTÃO COMENTADA | PADRÃO B3GE™ | Língua Inglesa | Q.35
🧭 Leitura orientada
A questão investiga a explicação evolucionista apresentada no texto para o comportamento de dominância e destemor exibido por jovens homens em sociedades primitivas. Assim, é necessário retomar a lógica biológica explicitamente mencionada pelos autores.
🔍 Identificação do argumento central
O texto afirma que, do ponto de vista da psicologia evolutiva, comportamentos competitivos, arriscados e violentos eram vantajosos biologicamente em sociedades primitivas. Segundo Simon Baron-Cohen, os homens mais bravos e dominantes conquistavam maior status social, o que lhes garantia mais esposas e mais descendentes.
🧠 Núcleo de sentido
Portanto, a dominância masculina não tinha apenas valor simbólico, mas funcionava como um mecanismo de seleção sexual. Homens mais respeitados e temidos tinham maior acesso reprodutivo, aumentando suas chances de perpetuar seus genes.
🔍 Análise alternativa por alternativa (com pegadinhas)
(A) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto não menciona
relações duradouras ou mutuamente benéficas,
mas sim status e reprodução.
(B) ✅ Correta — GABARITO
A alternativa corresponde fielmente ao texto:
os homens mais bravos e dominantes
eram mais respeitados,
alcançavam maior status social
e, por isso,
obtinham maior acesso sexual às mulheres.
(C) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: não há qualquer menção
a sequestro de mulheres ou ataques a tribos vizinhas.
(D) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto não afirma
que a violência era o único meio de sobrevivência,
mas apenas um fator ligado ao status.
(E) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: não há referência
à expectativa de vida curta
como justificativa do comportamento descrito.
🧠 Resumo B3GE™ Master
✔ O texto adota uma explicação evolucionista.
✔ Dominância gerava status social.
✔ Status ampliava o sucesso reprodutivo.
🔎 Gabarito confirmado: (B)