Flaw Question - Cause and Effect

[echopra]

Hi guys,

So normally I do a pretty good job of attacking the flaw questions, but I've noticed that in some questions that have the answer choice of "infers from the fact that something is usually true that it is always true" sometimes trips me up. I was wondering if someone could explain exactly in which type of situation would that answer be acceptable? (Is it even a correct answer choice for Flaw questions in general?) The question that I am referring to specifically is PT 57, Section 2, Question 6.

Thanks in advance!

[Sky Brooks]

Hi echopra,

So it is certainly possible for the flaw in the reasoning question's answer to be the choice "infers from the fact that something is sometimes true, that it is always true."

The passage typically mentions the occurrence of an event of phenomenon and then will make a leap and say that its occurrence implicates something else in the future. Watch for definitive words like "must" or "always" in these cases.

In this question, the flaw is mistaking correlation for causality. If the studies had talked about what research showed in the past and then made an assumption that future a scenario would have the exact same outcome (and been definitive about that expectation), then answer choice A) could be correct.

Hope this helps!

Sky Brooks