Question:

Introducing new technology in workplaces often fails not because it is inefficient but because it disrupts informal social norms that shape cooperation and workflow. Workers resist changes that alter these unwritten norms even when the technology itself may be superior. 

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? 

  1. Employees resist all types of new technology.
  2. Social norms strongly influence technological adoption.
  3. Inefficient tools are preferred for emotional reasons.
  4. Most technology decreases cooperation.

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When dealing with inference questions, select the option that must be true based on the passage, not something that is merely possible or generally true.
Updated On: Jul 4, 2026
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Approach Solution - 1

Approach: An inference is the quiet restatement that the passage guarantees — never a stronger or wider claim. Locate the causal sentence and pick the option that echoes it without inflating it.

Step 1 — Find the cause stated. The passage says new technology often fails "not because it is inefficient but because it disrupts informal social norms," and workers resist that disruption "even when the technology itself may be superior." So social norms govern whether tech is taken up.

Step 2 — Match without exaggerating. Option (2) "Social norms strongly influence technological adoption" is exactly the passage's mechanism — norms, not efficiency, decide adoption. Supported.

Step 3 — Eliminate the over-claims.

(1) "Employees resist all types of new technology" — the passage says "often," not always. Universal, reject.
(3) "Inefficient tools are preferred for emotional reasons" — the passage explicitly says failure is not about inefficiency, and it cites social norms, not emotion. Distorts, reject.
(4) "Most technology decreases cooperation" — the passage says disrupting norms that shape cooperation causes resistance, not that technology generally reduces cooperation. Over-generalised, reject.

\[ \boxed{\text{Answer: Option (2)}} \]
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Approach Solution -2

Approach: Before looking at the choices, restate the passage's claim in one plain sentence, then see which option matches that restatement most closely, this avoids getting pulled toward answers that merely reuse the passage's vocabulary.

Step 1: Restate the passage. In one line: new technology is adopted or resisted based on whether it fits existing social norms, not based on how efficient it is.

Step 2: Compare each option to that restatement.
Option 2 ("Social norms strongly influence technological adoption") is essentially a direct paraphrase of the restatement, a near word-for-word match in meaning.
Option 1 ("all types") adds a universal claim the restatement never made.
Option 3 ("emotional reasons") swaps out social norms for emotion, a different concept the passage never raises.
Option 4 ("most technology decreases cooperation") shifts from "disrupting norms around cooperation" to a blanket claim about technology's effect on cooperation in general, not the same statement.

Step 3: Confirm. Only Option 2 survives the paraphrase match without adding or distorting anything.

\[ \boxed{\text{Answer: Option (2)}} \]
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