Q20 - A study found that when rating the educational value

[jgmartin82]

PT68, S2, Q20 (Identify a Flaw)

(D) is correct.

Another assumption family question, we know the drill. The core is pretty straightforward here. It is a bit wordy though, so let’s take a moment to put into our own words; that will help us get a better grasp.

Parents rate edu. value of kids shows based on how much they like them (they don’t listen to the psychologists)

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if the psychologists are right, parents' ratings are wrong.

Any gaps here? Well one jumps out. Just because the parents didn’t listen to the psychologists doesn’t mean they came to different conclusions than the psychologists.The psychologists might say Teletubbies has educational value for children because of its use of different shapes and colors. The parents may ignore the psychologists, but still like the Teletubbies for their own reasons (its revolutionary music and lighting effects maybe?). That’s a good one; let’s keep our eyes on the core and... onward!

(A) is a premise de-booster. We get none of the details of the study, so there’s no reason to doubt that it’s valid or that they used a representative sample. Eliminate.

(B) has no bearing on the argument. This argument may seem to involve children, but really it’s about the views of parents and the views of psychologists about children’s shows. Forget about the kids, we don’t care what they think about the show. Eliminate.

(C) has no bearing on the argument. It’s similar to (B) in that we really don’t care about the kids. Whether they should or shouldn’t watch the show is different from whether parents can accurately rate the show’s educational value.

(D) looks like our prediction. The parents could feel the same way about the show for their own reasons (personal enjoyment apparently). If that were the case, the conclusion is in trouble. Keep it.

(E) is tempting.If psychologists are indeed the only people who can judge the value of the show that seems to rule out the possibility that parents could judge correctly. It helps the argument, but that’s not enough. Did the argument take it for granted? In other words, did it assume it? Let’s think about it. What if there were others who could judge the shows as well? Let’s say we are also good at this. Would that destroy the argument? In fact, it wouldn’t. Stay focused on the core, the argument leans on the idea that the parents didn’t listen to soundly judging psychologists.

We managed to predict the answer here. That’s always nice, but unless you’re in a time crunch, you should still take the time to read every answer choice at least once. Though it’s extremely helpful to have a prediction on this question type, if we fail to predict, we just need to work with core as we go through the answer choices.

[MikaylaA752]

I understand why D is correct but I initially tried to negate it to "parents' ratings of the shows ... DO NOT coincide closely with the educational psychologists views of the show..." and in doing that, it doesn't destroy the argument.

If the conclusion is: If psychologists' views are sound, parents have little reason to trust their own ratings, who cares if the parents' ratings of the show don't coincide with the psychologists?

[Laura Damone]

Hi Mikayla!

Why the choice to negate D?

The negation test should only be deployed under two circumstances:

1. A Necessary Assumption answer
2. An ID the Flaw answer that begins with a phrase that introduces assumptions

Q20 is an ID the Flaw question, but answer D doesn't begin with a phrase that introduces assumptions. It begins with a phrase that introduces objections ("fails to rule out the possibility that...").

Here's a quick list of common phrases that fall into each category.

Phrases that introduce assumptions
Takes for granted
Presumes
Presupposes
Fails to establish
Hinges on

Phrases that introduce objections
Fails to consider
Overlooks the possibility that
Fails to rule out

If an ID the Flaw answer begins with an assumption phrase, you can negate it.

If it begins with an objection phrase, you can ask yourself "does this objection really weaken my argument?" If it does, it's the correct answer, because overlooking a weakener is a flaw. If it doesn't weaken, the answer is incorrect.

Hope this helps!

[KianaA434]

Hi Mikayla!

Why the choice to negate D?

The negation test should only be deployed under two circumstances:

1. A Necessary Assumption answer
2. An ID the Flaw answer that begins with a phrase that introduces assumptions

Q20 is an ID the Flaw question, but answer D doesn't begin with a phrase that introduces assumptions. It begins with a phrase that introduces objections ("fails to rule out the possibility that...").

Here's a quick list of common phrases that fall into each category.

Phrases that introduce assumptions
Takes for granted
Presumes
Presupposes
Fails to establish
Hinges on

Phrases that introduce objections
Fails to consider
Overlooks the possibility that
Fails to rule out

If an ID the Flaw answer begins with an assumption phrase, you can negate it.

If it begins with an objection phrase, you can ask yourself "does this objection really weaken my argument?" If it does, it's the correct answer, because overlooking a weakener is a flaw. If it doesn't weaken, the answer is incorrect.

Hope this helps!

Hi Laura, thank you for this amazing tool, and I am so glad to have stumbled upon it. my only question is, how do we optimally use this, given that we usually have 5 answers and doing this will be time consuming? should we only do it when we are left with 2 answer choices?