Self-study
Conclusion Buying elaborate screensavers—programs that put moving images on a computer monitor to prevent damage—can cost a company far more in employee time than it saves in electricity and monitor protection. █████████ ██████ ██████ ████████ ████ ███████ ████ ████████████ ████ █████ ███████████ ████████ ██████ █████ ████████
Method of Reasoning
This stimulus is a classic example of weighing factors reasoning. It illustrates the principle that the positive effects (saving money on electricity) of a decision (buying screensavers) are sometimes outweighed by the negative effects (losing money on wasted employee time) of that same decision.
13.
Which one of the following ████ ███████ ████████ ██ ███ █████████ ███████████ ██████
a
A school that ███████ █████████ █████ ██ ███████ ██████████ ███ ███ ███ ███ ████ ██████████ ████████
This reflects the principle that schools can waste money when they conform to the preferences of students. It doesn’t show, as the stimulus does, that problem-solving measures can backfire and have the opposite effect.
b
An energy-efficient insulation ██████ ███ ████ ████ ██ █████ ███ ████ ██████████ ████ █████ ████ ███ ████ ██ ███ ██████
This illustrates the principle that paying a higher price up-front can be a cheaper option in the long run. There’s no plan backfiring and having unintended consequences, which is the phenomenon described in the stimulus.
c
The time that ██ █████ ██ ████ █ █████ █████████ ███ ██ ██████ ████ ██ █████ ██ ████ █ ████████ ███████
This compares two possible courses of action and determines that one saves more time than the other. The stimulus only refers to one measure and describes how it can backfire.
d
A complicated hotel ████████ ██████ ███ ████ ████ ██ ████████ ████████ ████ ██ █████ ██ ██████ ██ ██████
Like the stimulus, (D) displays net effect reasoning. It illustrates the principle that the positive effects (saving money on theft) of a decision (buying a fancy security system) are sometimes outweighed by the negative effects (losing customer satisfaction) of that same decision.
e
An electronic keyboard ███ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ████ █ █████ ███ ████ █████████ ██ ███████
This compares two options with different pros and cons. The stimulus only describes one measure whose costs can outweigh its benefits.