Q12 - A survey of a group

[yama_sekander]

While i picked the correct answer, D, I am wondering why E is wrong? since the argument is showing a causal argument and the author is stating that the effect could be the cause (the alt explanation)- i'snt this a flaw in the reasoning (causal flaw?)

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Great question Yama!

In this question the author is challenging a conclusion that some have reached. So the author's argument is not flawed, but the conclusion that those other folks reached is flawed - and the author points that out.

You're 100% correct in your understanding of the flawed reasoning of those other folks and also how the author challenges them.

There is a correlation that some have mistaken for a causal relationship. And the author points out that what some have presumed was the effect, might actually have been the cause. So the author offers an alternative hypothesis to the one suggested by those other folks - best expressed in answer choice (D).

(A) is incorrect. The author does not challenge the representativeness of the sample-survey.
(B) is incorrect. There is no discussion from the author about therapy, and the author doesn't concede the relationship suggested by some.
(C) is incorrect. The author does not bring up the motives that people have for playing bridge.
(E) is incorrect. The author doesn't "describe" the flaw. If this were happening we would have seen abstract language relating to the original argument made by those folks the author is challenging. If this were the correct answer, you would need to see the author literally saying, "you're mistaking a correlation for a cause and effect relationship. You may have the cause mistaken for the effect!" It would have been an abstract challenge, but the author sticks to pointing out the flaw by suggesting another way to look at the original information.

Does that answer your question?

[Dannyboy3D]

I was between C) and D). I have a different point of view on why C) is wrong than the post above.

I believe C) is wrong because of the word "arguing"...the last sentence of the stimulus isn't arguing against anything in the "original conclusion"--but it is providing an alternative explanation.

[uhdang]

I was between C) and D). I have a different point of view on why C) is wrong than the post above.

I believe C) is wrong because of the word "arguing"...the last sentence of the stimulus isn't arguing against anything in the "original conclusion"--but it is providing an alternative explanation.

First of all, I do agree that alternative explanation is provided. But, I'll have to disagree with your reasoning for C).

The stimulus states, "However, it may well be..." To me, just stating "however" itself sounds like the author is arguing against the original conclusion, because of the contrasting quality of a transitional word "however." But I can see why you would think that the stimulus isn't arguing, and it's probably because of the author used "may", showing not a very strong claim on his/her part. By using "may", it definitely sounds like the author isn't completely sure of his/her argument, but that doesn't mean he/she isn't arguing. To sum up, the author DOES argue against the original conclusion, but "may" makes the argument sound not very strong.

And the last whole question analysis dates back to 4 years ago, so let me refresh it a bit with my take on the analysis.

Let's start with the core since this is an argument:

A survey found that those who play bridge regularly tend to have better short-term memory than those did not
==>
bridge help older people retain and develop their memory
==>
It may well be that those people who already HAVE the better short-term memory gets attracted to games of bridge

@ This stimulus is questioning the original conclusion by raising a possibility of reverse reasoning (which is one type of an alternative reasoning). Any answer choice that points out this would be a strong contender.

Now, let's get into the answer.

A) This would be a correct answer if there was a problem with those people who participated in the survey, but we are not given any of specific information about the sample, or in this case older people. So, this is not it.

B) By raising the alternative explanation, this argument actually does not seem to agree with the original conclusion (although not as strongly argued). So, the first part of this answer is already wrong. The second part is also wrong because we never talked about the ‘therapy.’ The stimulus is talking about a "possible therapeutic effect" of the game bridge.

C) No motives mentioned in the stimulus. In Method of Reasoning question type, you can always refer back to the passage. So, “new” element appearance appearing in answer choice is very likely to be incorrect.

D) Alternative. Yep. This is what we’ve talked about. Didn’t exactly state “reverse” relationship, but it IS the alternative.

E) Final conclusion isn’t even definite, so it would be hasty to state that there is a flaw. We are not sure which explanation is the right one. The author did argue against the original, but he/she is not certain.