#12 - Several recent studies establish that most people

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

WeakenX. The correct answer choice is (C)

The argument presented in this stimulus sounds reasonable, although the word “established” makes this a fairly strong assertion. The referenced studies may suggest that people would want to be informed, but this is different from establishing (or proving) the claim irrefutably. Since this is an Except question, four of the answer choices will weaken the author’s argument, and one will not (note that the correct answer may not strengthen—we only know that it won’t weaken the argument—it could be irrelevant).

Answer choice (A): If another study provides such a contrary opinion, then this certainly weakens the author’s claim. Since this answer choice does weaken the argument in the stimulus, so it is an incorrect response to this Except question.

Answer choice (B): This answer choice gives us reason to question the results of the referenced survey, so this is another incorrect response to this Weaken Except question.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Such a study would not require a medical background to assess the results. Since this choice does not weaken the conclusion in the stimulus, this is the right answer.

Answer choice (D): If some of the questions suggested that wanting to be informed is a reasonable response, such questions are biased and would decrease the credibility of the referenced studies.

Answer choice (E): If every single survey respondent was a student of introductory psychology, there is a clear possibility of bias in the population (this group may be particularly curious, for example). With such a biased population, there is reason to question the results of the studied cited. Since this answer also weakens the author’s argument, this is incorrect response to this Weaken Except question.

[spatra444]

It's clear that choices A) and B) both weaken the argument, thus removing them from contention.

For choices, C, D and E, it's clear that all of these answers do not necessarily weaken the argument and could be right.

Choice D- I do not see how this choice does not weaken the question.
Choice E - If all of the people in the studies were young psychology students, it does not weaken the argument.

Thus, I am having a hard time understanding why Choice E is not right while Choice C is more right, even though both of these choices do not weaken the argument.

[Steve Stein]

Thanks for your question. Answer choice C, doesn't really weaken the argument: "some" (that is, at least one) of the researchers didn't have a background in medicine--but asking questions does not require a medical background. Answer choice E does call the conclusion into question: if the people surveyed were all young psych students, this would suggest a heavily biased sample, and that weakens the author's argument.

I hope that's helpful--let me know. Thanks!

~Steve

[spatra444]

Got it, thanks makes a lot more sense now. A biased sample will not be the correct answer.

[Jenn1]

Hi,

Asides from bias, would you help me understand why E is not the correct answer? I am having a difficult time understanding how E "weakens" the argument.

Thanks!

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Jenn,

The speaker's conclusion is that most people would want to be informed if they had any serious medical condition. The key phrase to look in judging choice (E) is most people. That is an incredibly strong claim; since the speaker did not qualify it in any way way, we have to take her at her word that she believes most people in the world would want to be informed.

If we are to accept such a broad claim, then we ought to expect rather far-reaching data. Choice (E) tells us that the researchers limit their samples in two ways:

• young people
• students taking psychology classes

The explanation above already explained that it would be reasonable to expect students in a psychology class to have some differences with people not taking psychology classes and not in school. The first point I listed might be more apparent to you. If you were to poll 18 - 22 year-olds on national issues in your country, how confident would you be expecting that result to approximate most people's opinions?

The above explanation described this as bias. That's true, but this is also just an example of a principle of survey's that will come up repeatedly on the LSAT: if you use a non-randomized sample to gauge the opinion of a larger group, you should justify why that smaller sample group is indicative of the opinions of the larger group. Choice (E) clearly weakens the conclusion, by telling you that there was one specific group surveyed (young intro psych students), which had key differences from the larger group ("most people") that the conclusion is making a claim about, without providing any reason to expect that young intro psychology students are an accurate representation of the larger population.

[rpark8214]

Hi,

Regarding answer C, why is it acceptable to assume that such a study would not require a medical background? If a survey of a certain topic was not administered or evaluated by those in that field, would that not potentially jeopardize the accuracy of the survey? I completely understand how the other answer choices substantially weaken the conclusion, but I feel to some extent C does as well. Really appreciate your input! Thanks

[Kristina Moen]

Hi rpark,

Great question. In its simplest form, whenever you have a study/poll/survey, you have two parts: there's the raw data and then there's the conclusion based on the study. The question is here is whether the data presented in the premise that "In each study, over 80 percent of the people surveyed indicated that they would want to be told" really leads to the conclusion that "most people would want to be informed if they had any serious medical condition" (the author's conclusion). Keep in mind that the conclusion is the author's conclusion, and was never stated as a conclusion of those conducting the study. Answer choices (B) and (D) cast doubt on the authenticity of the responses, answer choice (E) indicates that the sample may not have been representative of "most people," and answer choice (A) tells us about a study with opposite results. These are all ways to weaken a conclusion based off a study. It is still true that "In each study, over 80 percent of the people surveyed indicated that they would want to be told." So whether the folks conducting the study had a background in medicine is irrelevant. Does it change the numbers? Does it lead us to conclude that the responses are inaccurate or inauthentic? Does a researcher with a background in social work or therapy cause someone to answer "yes" when they really believe "no"? What if a researcher is a statistician in the field of law? Would that change how a respondent answered? While the conclusion based off the survey may depend on the researcher's expertise, we are simply given raw numbers here. It is the author that concludes from the numbers that "most people would want to be informed if they had any serious medical condition," not the researchers conducting the study. This was a tough one, but I can think of at least one other LSAT question like this where the background of the people conducting the study does not weaken the study.

[blade21cn]

It did state in the stimulus "everal recent studies establish that ..." Grammatically speaking, the subject/agent performing the action of "establishing" is "several recent studies," or the researchers behind those studies. It can be interpreted that the author is just a messenger and we're critiquing the argument in these studies. "Serious medical condition" is mentioned in the survey, but the survey itself is about people's preference, not about any medical condition. That's why (C) shifts the term, misses the point, and thus becomes irrelevant.

[Adam Tyson]

Respectfully, blade21cn, I have to disagree. Studies cannot establish anything, and they do not make arguments, because they are mindless objects, collections of data that make no claims. It is the person interpreting the study that determines whether the study establishes (proves) something. In this case, the author is inserting himself as the arbiter of truth based on his understanding of the data.He never tells us that the researchers have established anything, but is instead making the claim for himself. The author is no mere messenger - he is someone making a claim on his own behalf about his understanding of what the data indicates.

The reason answer C is irrelevant is that it never matters, from a logical perspective, who did the research. What we care about in a survey is who was surveyed, how the survey was constructed, and whether the responses were accurate.