#9- The Jacksons regularly receive wrong-number calls for

[lorein21]

Question 9 of section 5 of the June 2008 exam

I'm so confused why its not E and why the answer is A. Any information you can provide so I can see it I would appreciate.

Thank You,
Lorein

[Steve Stein]

In this question, the Jacksons, who tend to get mistaken calls for Sara, were notified of the phone book misprint and given the correct number. The author concludes that it would be praiseworthy for the Jacksons to pass along Sara's number to those calling for her, but that it would not be wrong for them to simply tell such callers that the wrong number had been dialed.

The question that follows requires us to find the principle that "most justifies"--in other words the choice that most strengthens--the author's conclusion. The right answer will provide a principle that supports 1) the notion that it would be nice for the Jacksons to pass along Sara's number, and 2) the notion that it would not be wrong for the Jacksons just to say "wrong number."

Onl correct answer choice A provides a principle that supports both notions discussed above--1) it's always nice to do something helpful, but 2) since the Jacksons didn't suggest that they would pass along Sara's number, it is not wrong for them not to do so.

Let me know if that makes sense--thanks!

[reop6780]

I have several question regarding this one.

First of all, is answer A still the right answer if the question stem were meant to be "justify" not "strengthen" ?

I believe "justify" questions ask specific answers and answer A is a bit broad with "always."

I want to figure out the reason why I miss these questions is caused by mistaken recognition of question stem (that I mistakenly believed it was "justify" questions instead of "strengthen" type).

I chose the answer C quite convinced of it at that moment.

Is C wrong due to the last part, "and not wrong to do so"?

Still, I do not understand how answer A's conditional statement, "not doing...only if..." plays its role in strengthening the stimuli.

Thank you

[Steve Stein]

Hi Reop,

Interesting questions! First, it's important to keep in mind that when we are asked for the answer that "most justifies," the test makers are looking for the answer that strengthens.

Second, Justify answers can be broad or narrow in scope.

For this question, the author's conclusion is as follows:

i) It would be laudable for the Jacksons to pass along the number.

but

ii) it would not be wrong for the Jacksons not to do so.

The problem with answer choice (C) is that it only deals with part (i) of the equation above: doing so, missing part (ii) of the equation--not doing so

Tricky question! Please let me know whether this is clear--thanks!

~Steve

[cascott15]

Hello everyone,

So I think the reason I got this wrong is because I was scared away from the strong language of answer A ("always laudable"). I'm starting to notice this is a trend with principle questions I get wrong. I get tempted by the right answer but ultimately decide against it because I'm afraid of the powerful language/overgeneralization it uses. But in almost every situation the strongly worded choice was the correct one.

So, just to clarify on principle questions: our goal is generally to find one that does/does not violate the stimulus, right? No matter how silly or unreasonable the principle might be, or if we're given extraneous information (throw back to Mary the veterinary student from PT 5). What matters is that it agrees/disagrees directly with the information we are given in the stimulus.

In this way, it would be different than other LR questions, which are generally specific power-word averse.

Sorry that might have been confusing to read. I'm just trying to confirm if my reasoning is correct so I can start getting these right moving forward.

[Jeremy Press]

Hi cascott15,

This is a very good question that I've noticed a lot of people struggle with on Principle questions, because they treat Principle questions as a question type unto themselves and not as subsets of already-existing question types (which is how PowerScore treats them in both the Logical Reasoning Bible and our courses).

This specific principle question is what we would call a "Strengthen-Principle." Why? Because, according to the question stem, what we're being asked to identify is a rule in the answer choices that "most helps to justify" (in other words, that "most strengthens") the reasoning in the argument. On a Strengthen-Principle question, the broader and the more certain the language of the rule, the more likely the rule will "cover" (i.e. "apply to") the facts being described in the argument and lead to the conclusion with certainty (and therefore the more likely the rule will strengthen the reasoning). So the construct you're bringing to the question is the exact opposite of what you need to identify the correct answer. Your instinct about the strength of the language in answer choice A is correct (it's very broad and certain!). But that's exactly what we'd like to find on a Strengthen-Principle (and, really, any Strengthen) question. The same would be true of a Justify-Principle question.

More generally, in which general question types do we want to find strong answers (and not worry if they include "new" information that the stimulus didn't refer to)? Strengthen, Justify, Resolve the Paradox, and Weaken questions.

In which general question types do we want to be wary of language that's overly strong and broad? Must Be True and Assumption questions.

I hope this helps!

Jeremy

[ShannonOh22]

Hi guys,

I have read through the previous questions/chains, but I'm still confused on why C is incorrect? I can see how A holds water, but C states: "If one can do something that would be helpful to someone else and it would be easy to do, then it is laudable and not wrong to do". How is that wrong? It is broader than A, which we are told is better for these types of questions (Strengthen-PR).

The only difference between A and C that I can identify is that A says "it is always laudable" and that "not doing so would be wrong only if one has led that person to believe one would do it"...

The two answer choices seem to be getting at the exact same point. What am I missing here? Please help!

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Shannon!

Answer choice (C) tells us that it would not be wrong for the Jackson's to pass along Sara's correct number, but it does not tell us that it could not be wrong for the Jackson's to NOT pass along Sara's correct number. A better principle would help justify both of these components: 1) it's laudable if the Jacksons pass along Sara's correct number and 2) it's not wrong if they do NOT pass along Sara's correct number. Answer choice (A) supports both parts of reasoning in the stimulus and so it is a better answer choice.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[queenbee]

Hi
I am still not clear why it was ok to select and answer choice that used "always". I do see what C was missing, and I selected the choice knowing it was not comprehensive, however, the "always" really steered me away from answer choice A. Is there an easier method we can use to understand when it is safe to select an answer choice that uses extreme language?
Thanks!

[Robert Carroll]

queenbee,

This is a Strengthen question. Extreme language is never a problem for a Strengthen question.

Robert Carroll