StrengthenDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Violent prisoners usually eat poorly. When researchers fed some of them healthy food, they became less violent, which supposedly proves that bad food causes violence.
Conclusion: The experimental results confirm that poor nutrition is a cause of violent behavior.
Reasoning: Violent inmates were observed choosing low-nutrient foods, and when a group of them was switched to a high-nutrient diet, their behavior improved over four months.
Analysis: The argument moves from a correlation and a single-group experiment to a definitive causal conclusion. To strengthen this, we need to eliminate potential 'lurking variables' or alternative explanations. For instance, did the behavior of the inmates who *weren't* given the new diet stay the same? If everyone's behavior improved regardless of diet, the experiment proves nothing. Look for an answer that provides a control group or suggests that the improvement wasn't caused by something else, like a change in prison leadership or seasonal shifts in behavior.
Conclusion: The experimental results confirm that poor nutrition is a cause of violent behavior.
Reasoning: Violent inmates were observed choosing low-nutrient foods, and when a group of them was switched to a high-nutrient diet, their behavior improved over four months.
Analysis: The argument moves from a correlation and a single-group experiment to a definitive causal conclusion. To strengthen this, we need to eliminate potential 'lurking variables' or alternative explanations. For instance, did the behavior of the inmates who *weren't* given the new diet stay the same? If everyone's behavior improved regardless of diet, the experiment proves nothing. Look for an answer that provides a control group or suggests that the improvement wasn't caused by something else, like a change in prison leadership or seasonal shifts in behavior.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage12.Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
Correct Answer
E
If violent inmates who did not receive the high-nutrient diet showed no improvement, that strongly points to the diet as the causal factor for improved behavior, directly reinforcing the claimed nutrition–violence link and addressing rival explanations.
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