Support In a recent study, one group of participants watched video recordings of themselves running on treadmills, and a second group watched recordings of other people running on treadmills. Support When contacted later, participants in the first group reported exercising, on average, 1 hour longer each day than did the other participants. This shows that Conclusion watching a recording of yourself exercising can motivate you to exercise more.
The author hypothesizes that watching a recording of yourself exercising can motivate you to exercise more. This is based on a study in which one group of participants watched recordings of themselves running, and a second group watched recordings of other people running. Later, the first group reported exercising, on average, 1 hour longer each day than the second group reported exercising.
The author assumes that the greater reported amount of exercise for the first group reflects a greater actual amount of exercise in that group. (There’s a difference between reported amounts and actual amounts.) The author also assumes that the first group’s watching themselves run caused increased motivation, which in turn caused greater amounts of exercise.
Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
In another study, people who watched recordings of themselves lifting weights exercised for more time each day than did people who watched recordings of themselves running.
This suggests that watching yourself doing some kinds of exercise can cause you to exercise more than watching yourself engage in other kinds. But the author never suggested that there was no difference between the potential motivating effects of different exercises.
Another study's members exhibited an increased willingness to give to charity after hearing stories in which people with whom they identified did so.
If (B) does anything, it might strengthen the argument by providing evidence that one might increase a certain behavior after identifying with someone doing that behavior.
Answers that, if they have any effect, do the opposite of what we want (weaken when we're trying to strengthen, or strengthen when we're trying to weaken).
Participants who were already highly motivated to exercise did not report exercising for any longer each day than they had before the study.
The conclusion doesn’t say that everyone will be motivated by watching themselves exercise. There can be some exceptions. And, we have no reason to think the second group had more of these already-motivated people than the first. So (C) doesn’t provide an alternate hypothesis.
Weaken Qs: Answers that try to introduce an alternate explanation, but fall short, or try to explain a different phenomenon.
Strengthen Qs: Answers that try to eliminate an alternate explanation, but fall short, or try to eliminate an explanation for a different phenomenon.
Answer is attractive because it seems to (but doesn't actually) contradict the premises or conclusion.
In studies of identical twins, participants who observed their twin reading overreported by a significant amount how much time they themselves spent reading in the days that followed.
This suggests that the first group might have overreported the amount they exercised. This provides an alternate hypothesis to explain the results of the study. Maybe watching themselves didn’t actually lead to more exercise in the first group, just exaggerated reports.
Weaken: Introduce or suggest an alternate explanation for the target phenomenon.
Strengthen: Helps to eliminate an alternate explanation for the target phenomenon.
A third group of participants who watched recordings of themselves sitting on couches afterwards reported being sedentary for more time each day than did the other participants.
If (E) does anything, it might strengthen the argument by providing additional evidence that people report engaging in an activity more after watching themselves do a similar kind of activity.
Answers that, if they have any effect, do the opposite of what we want (weaken when we're trying to strengthen, or strengthen when we're trying to weaken).
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