#13 - Bethany: Psychologists have discovered a technique for

[cpassaro]

Can you please explain December 2009 LR sec. 1 Q 13 (psychologists)?

Thanks

[Steve Stein]

Thanks for your question. It would be helpful to know how you broke that one down; were you able to locate the conclusion? Since the question asks for the principle that most strengthens the author's argument, which of the choices did you find appealing?

Let me know--thanks!

~Steve

[cpassaro]

Thanks. I identified "Thus psychologists should..." as the conclusion and chose AC B because it seemed to link the premises to the conclusion. Now that I'm looking at it again, I think I read B backwards ( as in "any psych technique that can be taught to an adult can be taught to a child"... thinking that it made the link between adults and kids). Even though B no longer seems that appealing, answer choice C, the corrrect answer, still seems a little out of left field. Could you provide some insights?

thanks

[Steve Stein]

Hi,

Thanks for your response. In that one, the author provides that psychologists have figured out how to get rid of nightmares in adults, and that children who have nightmares are particularly likely to become adults with nightmares.

The author. as you correctly noted, concludes that psychologists should try to identify nightmare-prone kids to teach them the methods for replacing their bad dreams with good ones.

A strengthen question follows, so the correct choice will be the one that, when added to the premises in the stimulus, strengthens the author's conclusion. Answer choice C fits that bill:

Premise: Psychologists have figured out how to get rid of adult nightmares
Premise: Nightmare prone kids are more likely to have nightmares as adults.
Answer C: Psychologists should do everything they can to minimize adult nightmares.

Strengthened Conclusion: Thus psychologists should try to identify nightmare prone children to teach them how to replace nightmares with nice dreams.

I hope that's helpful; please let me know whether that clears this one up--thanks!

~Steve

[cpassaro]

yes - thanks!

[srcline@noctrl.edu]

Hello

So is this a justify or strengthen question?


Thankyou
Sarah

[Jon Denning]

This is Strengthen. The phrase "most helps to justify" in the question stem is classic strengthen language: Justify questions are always 100% proof, and never lessen the degree of help by using words like "most helps."

[jennifersuh]

Hi!
Is answer choice B wrong because the stimulus has already stated that the techniques have been successful in treating adults?

Jenn

[Robert Carroll]

Jenn,

The proposal in the stimulus is to teach these techniques to children. Answer choice (B) provides, at best, some evidence that they'd be useful to teach to adults. But that's not what's being proposed; what's being proposed is to teach children the techniques to improve their lives when they grow up. So answer choice (B) is strengthening a proposal that's not even present in the stimulus.

Robert Carroll