- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8950
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri May 06, 2016 4:13 pm
#24078
Complete Question Explanation
Flaw in the Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (C)
In this dialogue, the psychology professor argues that applied statistics should be taught only by social science departments, based on their specific expertise. The math professor disagrees, with questionable basis: the math professor’s course covers much of the same materials, and the textbook is the same! This does not respond to the premise of the psychology professor’s argument, which is that stats should be taught by those with the most expertise (in the eyes of the psych professor).
Answer choice (A): Since the argument in the stimulus does not involve student preference, this answer choice cannot be correct.
Answer choice (B): The argument does not involve a comparison between student types, but rather about the teachers best suited to teach particular subject matter.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, and it restates our prephrase from the discussion above. The math professor fails to respond to a key reason from the psych professor: that according to the psych professor, social science departments should teach stats because they have the most expertise. The fact that the math professor teaches the same materials has no effect whatsoever on the psychology professor’s argument.
Answer choice (D): A personal attack against the professor would certainly be a logically flawed approach, but there is no such attack in the dialogue between the two professors.
Answer choice (E): There is no such presumption reflected in the math professor’s response.
Flaw in the Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (C)
In this dialogue, the psychology professor argues that applied statistics should be taught only by social science departments, based on their specific expertise. The math professor disagrees, with questionable basis: the math professor’s course covers much of the same materials, and the textbook is the same! This does not respond to the premise of the psychology professor’s argument, which is that stats should be taught by those with the most expertise (in the eyes of the psych professor).
Answer choice (A): Since the argument in the stimulus does not involve student preference, this answer choice cannot be correct.
Answer choice (B): The argument does not involve a comparison between student types, but rather about the teachers best suited to teach particular subject matter.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, and it restates our prephrase from the discussion above. The math professor fails to respond to a key reason from the psych professor: that according to the psych professor, social science departments should teach stats because they have the most expertise. The fact that the math professor teaches the same materials has no effect whatsoever on the psychology professor’s argument.
Answer choice (D): A personal attack against the professor would certainly be a logically flawed approach, but there is no such attack in the dialogue between the two professors.
Answer choice (E): There is no such presumption reflected in the math professor’s response.