Self-study
Researcher: Conclusion Consumption of turmeric, a basic ingredient in curry dishes, probably slows cognitive decline. ███ ████████ ████ ████████ █ ████████ ██ ███████████ █████ ███ █████████ █████████ ██████████ ███ ████ ██ ███████ █████████ ██ ██████████ █████ ███ ███ ███████ █████████ ███ ██████ ██████ ██ ██████████████████ █████ ████ █████ ███ ██████ ██ █████ ███ ████████ ████ ████████████ ███ █████████ ███ ███ ███████ █████████ █████████ ██ ██████ ██████████
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The researcher hypothesizes that consuming turmeric slows cognitive decline. She supports this by citing an analysis of elderly Singaporeans, which found that those who ate curries regularly scored higher on cognitive tests than those who ate them rarely or never. It also found that the relationship was strongest among elderly Singaporeans of Indian ethnicity.
Notable Assumptions
The researcher assumes that turmeric is primarily responsible for improved cognitive function, without considering other ingredients, factors, or explanations. She also assumes that turmeric slows cognitive decline based on the strong link between curry consumption and high cognitive scores among Indian residents, but she doesn't link their curry consumption to turmeric intake.
23.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ ███████████ ███ ████████████ ███████████ ██ ███ ████████ ██████ █████████
a
Even before analyzing ███ █████████ ███ ███████████ ███ ████████████ ████ ████████ ███████████ █████ █████████ ████████
Even if the researchers made their hypothesis before analyzing the database, (A) fails to show how the results of the analysis support that hypothesis. So, (A) doesn’t strengthen the argument.
b
Highly educated residents ██ █████████ ███ ████ ██████ ████ █████ █████████ ██ ███ ███████ ██████████
This weakens the argument by providing an alternative hypothesis to explain the results of the analysis. If highly educated residents are more likely to eat curries, it makes sense that those residents who eat curries also scored higher on cognitive tests.
Directionally wrong
Directionally wrong
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).
c
Most Singapore residents ███ ███ ██ ██████ █████████ ███ ███████ ██████████
We already know that regular curry consumption is linked to higher cognitive test scores, especially among elderly Indian Singaporeans. Also, since the researchers are only analyzing a sample of elderly Singapore residents, the eating habits of other residents are irrelevant.
d
Singapore residents, on █ ███ ██████ ██████ ███ ███████ ████ █████ ████ ██ █████████ ██ ████ █████ ██████████
Irrelevant— the researcher’s hypothesis is based on data from elderly Singapore residents. It doesn’t matter what residents of most other countries eat.
e
Indian curries generally ███████ ████ ████ ████████ ████ █████ ███████ ████████
This somewhat strengthens the hypothesis because, if the link between high curry consumption and better cognitive scores is strongest among elderly Singaporeans of Indian descent, and Indian curries have much more turmeric, it suggests that turmeric may slow cognitive decline.
Plausibility
Plausibility
Presenting evidence that corroborates (in Strengthen) or conflicts (in Weaken) with the author's hypothesized explanation or the predictions that follow from that explanation.