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
With respect to “young male syndrome,” which of the following is most supported by the information in the passage?
For young men worldwide it has become the major cause of self-inflicted physical injuries.
Worldwide, it is the major cause of death for young men in the 15-to-24-year age group.
There is evidence that it may not be an exclusively human phenomenon.
If channeled into healthy activities, it leads young men to gain significant academic and career opportunities.
Studies show that it dramatically increases a young man’s chance for success in risky professional and business ventures.
đ Gabarito (clique para revelar)
đ§ QUESTĂO COMENTADA | PADRĂO B3GE™ | LĂngua Inglesa | Q.36
đ§ Leitura orientada
A questão pede a alternativa mais sustentada pelo texto a respeito do conceito de young male syndrome. Assim, deve-se identificar a opção que se baseia em informação explicitamente apresentada, evitando extrapolaçÔes.
đ Identificação da evidĂȘncia textual
O texto afirma que padrĂ”es semelhantes de violĂȘncia e comportamento de risco observados em homens jovens tambĂ©m aparecem entre chimpanzĂ©s machos jovens. Essa comparação direta indica que o fenĂŽmeno nĂŁo se limita Ă espĂ©cie humana, mas tem raĂzes evolutivas mais amplas.
đ§ NĂșcleo de sentido
Ao estabelecer paralelos entre humanos e outros primatas, o texto sustenta a ideia de que o young male syndrome possui uma base biolĂłgica e evolucionista, nĂŁo sendo um comportamento exclusivamente cultural ou socialmente construĂdo.
đ AnĂĄlise alternativa por alternativa (com pegadinhas)
(A) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto cita exemplos de lesÔes,
mas nĂŁo afirma que essa seja a principal causa
de ferimentos autoinfligidos em jovens homens.
(B) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto nĂŁo declara que
o young male syndrome
seja a principal causa de morte,
apenas mostra maior envolvimento em violĂȘncia.
(C) ✅ Correta — GABARITO
A alternativa reflete exatamente o que o texto afirma:
hĂĄ evidĂȘncias de que o fenĂŽmeno
nĂŁo Ă© exclusivamente humano,
sendo observado também entre
jovens chimpanzés machos.
(D) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto nĂŁo discute
redirecionamento positivo do comportamento
para fins acadĂȘmicos ou profissionais.
(E) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: não hå qualquer afirmação
sobre sucesso profissional ou empresarial
decorrente desse comportamento.
đ§ Resumo B3GE™ Master
✔ O texto compara jovens homens e chimpanzĂ©s.
✔ O fenĂŽmeno aparece em mais de uma espĂ©cie.
✔ Isso indica base evolutiva compartilhada.
đ Gabarito confirmado: (C)