#7 - Although many political candidates object to being mad

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Parallel Flaw—CE, #%. The correct answer choice is (B)

The author of this stimulus concludes that negative political advertising is actually beneficial, despite
objections by those who are the targets of such advertising. This questionable conclusion is based on
the premise that most elections were won by candidates who had been the subjects of such negative
advertising.

As with many flawed causal arguments, the author has mistaken a correlation for a causal
relationship. Even if most election winners are negative ad targets, this does not necessarily support
the conclusion that such ads provide any benefit—it is possible, for example, that those candidates
won despite negative ads, rather than because of them.

The invalid Cause/Effect relationship is as follows:

C E
Targeted by negative ads Election wins

The stimulus is followed by a Parallel Flaw question stem, so we should look for the answer choice
whose author notes a correlation and makes a similarly questionable causal presumption.

Answer choice (A): No correlation is presented here, and no causal conclusion is drawn, so this
choice cannot parallel the flawed reasoning in the stimulus.

Premise: Exercise is a good way to improve overall health.
Conclusion: Therefore many should exercise, even if they dislike it.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, which follows the same basic pattern
of argumentation as that found in the stimulus: Harsh reviews are actually beneficial, the author
concludes, even though many actors dislike them. This questionable conclusion is based on the
premise that most prestigious acting awards have gone to actors who have received such harsh
reviews. Much like the stimulus, the author of this choice notes the correlation between harsh
reviews and winning awards, and jumps to the conclusion that the former must cause the latter.
This conclusion, like the one drawn in the stimulus, is clearly flawed; another explanation of this
observed correlation, for example, would be that the best known actors get the most reviews, some of
which are likely to be harsh, and those same famous actors might also be the ones most likely to win
awards.

Answer choice (C): Like incorrect answer choice (A) above, this choice cannot be correct because it
presents a logical argument, so it cannot parallel the flawed argument in the stimulus. Based on the
premise that most who study pass their courses, it is reasonable to conclude that studying must be a
good way to achieve academic success, despite many students’ dislike of doing so.

Answer choice (D): This choice provides a valid argument, so we can quickly rule it out as a
contender for this Parallel Flaw question stem. The argument here is as follows:
Premise: A large number of people are eager to attend horror films.
Conclusion: Therefore such films are bound to be successful, despite the fact that many critics dislike
such films.

Answer choice (E): The flaw found here is different from that presented in the stimulus. Again, the
flaw in the stimulus is the mistaken conclusion that a noted correlation reflects a cause and effect
relationship. The flawed reasoning here is as follows:

Premise: Most people who stay up late enjoy doing so.
Conclusion: Next day sleepiness must be acceptable to those who stay up late, despite the
fact that many dislike the result of feeling sleepy.

Because this reasoning does not reflect the standard causal flaw found it the stimulus’ reasoning, it
cannot be the correct answer choice to this Parallel Flaw—CE question.