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- Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:59 pm
#71268
Complete Question Explanation
Must Be True, #%. The correct answer choice is E.
In this Most Strongly Supported form of Must Be True question, we're given a set of facts that strongly suggest a link between eyewitness identifications from a lineup and what people are told about the suspects included in that lineup.
The people in the study watched a staged video of a crime, then were asked to pick the person playing the criminal out of a lineup. The person playing the criminal wasn't actually included in the lineup. When the people were not told about the possibility the suspect might not be in the lineup, they picked someone from the lineup as the suspect 78% of the time. When the people were told about the possibility the suspect might not be in the lineup, they only picked someone from the lineup as the suspect 38% of the time.
These data give us a very strong negative correlation between (1) being told about the possible absence of the suspect, and (2) picking someone from the lineup as the suspect. This negative correlation will likely be the source of the correct answer, so it pays to identify it before sorting the answer choices.
Answer Choice (A): The people in the study were not "given an accurate verbal description" of the suspect (rather, they watched a video), so this answer choice cannot be supported from information in the stimulus.
Answer Choice (B): There were no "stated expectations" in the study. In other words, the researchers arranging the lineup did not tell the people what they expected them to do (identify someone, not identify someone, identify a specific person, etc.). They told one group of people about the possibilities in the lineup, but not what they expected the people to say based on those possibilities. Thus, answer choice B cannot be supported from information in the stimulus.
Answer Choice (C): The stimulus does not say that people in the study were "specifically directed to say" anything at all. In other words, the stimulus does not say that the researchers told people in the study specifically what to say, so this information cannot be supported.
Answer Choice (D): The study was not aimed at uncovering whether people are able accurately to notice "the physical similarities among a group of people." Rather it was aimed at uncovering the physical identity of a person in a video with some other person in a lineup. Thus, this answer choice cannot be supported.
Answer Choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. This answer choice fits our identification of the negative correlation in the stimulus. The less the people in the study expected to see the suspect (i.e. the people who were told about the possibility the suspect might not be in the lineup were not expecting to see the suspect), the less likely they were to think they saw the suspect (38% likely vs. 78% likely).
Must Be True, #%. The correct answer choice is E.
In this Most Strongly Supported form of Must Be True question, we're given a set of facts that strongly suggest a link between eyewitness identifications from a lineup and what people are told about the suspects included in that lineup.
The people in the study watched a staged video of a crime, then were asked to pick the person playing the criminal out of a lineup. The person playing the criminal wasn't actually included in the lineup. When the people were not told about the possibility the suspect might not be in the lineup, they picked someone from the lineup as the suspect 78% of the time. When the people were told about the possibility the suspect might not be in the lineup, they only picked someone from the lineup as the suspect 38% of the time.
These data give us a very strong negative correlation between (1) being told about the possible absence of the suspect, and (2) picking someone from the lineup as the suspect. This negative correlation will likely be the source of the correct answer, so it pays to identify it before sorting the answer choices.
Answer Choice (A): The people in the study were not "given an accurate verbal description" of the suspect (rather, they watched a video), so this answer choice cannot be supported from information in the stimulus.
Answer Choice (B): There were no "stated expectations" in the study. In other words, the researchers arranging the lineup did not tell the people what they expected them to do (identify someone, not identify someone, identify a specific person, etc.). They told one group of people about the possibilities in the lineup, but not what they expected the people to say based on those possibilities. Thus, answer choice B cannot be supported from information in the stimulus.
Answer Choice (C): The stimulus does not say that people in the study were "specifically directed to say" anything at all. In other words, the stimulus does not say that the researchers told people in the study specifically what to say, so this information cannot be supported.
Answer Choice (D): The study was not aimed at uncovering whether people are able accurately to notice "the physical similarities among a group of people." Rather it was aimed at uncovering the physical identity of a person in a video with some other person in a lineup. Thus, this answer choice cannot be supported.
Answer Choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. This answer choice fits our identification of the negative correlation in the stimulus. The less the people in the study expected to see the suspect (i.e. the people who were told about the possibility the suspect might not be in the lineup were not expecting to see the suspect), the less likely they were to think they saw the suspect (38% likely vs. 78% likely).