PrincipleDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: When people feel safer because of technology or medicine, they tend to act more recklessly.
Conclusion: Curing cancer would likely lead to an increase in risky behaviors like smoking and overexposure to the sun.
Reasoning: People tend to take more risks when they perceive the negative consequences of those risks have been reduced, as seen with SUV drivers who drive less carefully because they feel safer.
Analysis: The journalist is applying a general principle of human behavior—risk compensation—to a new context. The underlying logic is that the level of caution people exercise is inversely proportional to their perceived safety. To find the matching principle, look for a statement that links the reduction of a specific danger to an increase in the behavior that causes that danger. The argument assumes that if we 'fix' the bad outcome, people will stop worrying about the bad habits that lead to it.
Conclusion: Curing cancer would likely lead to an increase in risky behaviors like smoking and overexposure to the sun.
Reasoning: People tend to take more risks when they perceive the negative consequences of those risks have been reduced, as seen with SUV drivers who drive less carefully because they feel safer.
Analysis: The journalist is applying a general principle of human behavior—risk compensation—to a new context. The underlying logic is that the level of caution people exercise is inversely proportional to their perceived safety. To find the matching principle, look for a statement that links the reduction of a specific danger to an increase in the behavior that causes that danger. The argument assumes that if we 'fix' the bad outcome, people will stop worrying about the bad habits that lead to it.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage23.The journalist's reasoning most closely conforms to which one of the following principles?
Correct Answer
B
It captures risk compensation: when ways are developed to protect people from the consequences of harmful behaviors, people often become less careful to avoid those behaviors. That mirrors the SUV-to-driving and cures-to-risky-behavior pattern.
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