Sufficient AssumptionDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Scientists try to figure out why people are the way they are by asking them about their past, but because they have to rely on what people say, the studies aren't reliable.
Conclusion: Retrospective studies involving human subjects are unable to accurately identify the causes of those subjects' current traits.
Reasoning: These specific types of studies are forced to rely on the subjects' own personal accounts and memories of their pasts.
Analysis: The argument presents a premise about a method (relying on self-reports) and jumps to a conclusion about a result (unreliability). There is a clear gap here: why does relying on self-reports automatically make a study unreliable? To guarantee this conclusion, we need a bridge that says any study relying on subject reports is necessarily unreliable. Look for an answer that connects the 'reports' mentioned in the premise to the 'unreliability' mentioned in the conclusion.
Conclusion: Retrospective studies involving human subjects are unable to accurately identify the causes of those subjects' current traits.
Reasoning: These specific types of studies are forced to rely on the subjects' own personal accounts and memories of their pasts.
Analysis: The argument presents a premise about a method (relying on self-reports) and jumps to a conclusion about a result (unreliability). There is a clear gap here: why does relying on self-reports automatically make a study unreliable? To guarantee this conclusion, we need a bridge that says any study relying on subject reports is necessarily unreliable. Look for an answer that connects the 'reports' mentioned in the premise to the 'unreliability' mentioned in the conclusion.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage9.Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the argument's conclusion to be properly drawn?
Correct Answer
C
If, in studies linking present traits to past events, subjects’ self-reports are highly susceptible to inaccuracy, and retrospective studies of humans must use those reports, then such studies cannot reliably determine causes. This supplies the missing bridge.
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