Summary
A study conducted on patients awaiting heart treatment found that those waiting to find out whether they would need surgery were less likely to experience pain from their condition than those who knew what kind of treatment they would receive. Assuming that this uncertainty (waiting to find out whether they need surgery) is more stressful than knowing what lies ahead (knowing what treatment they need), it is reasonable to conclude that… (the right answer is the conclusion).
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Stress can reduce the pain of this heart condition.
A
stress sometimes reduces the amount of pain a heart patient experiences
Those with more stress (who were uncertain about their treatment) experienced less pain from their condition than those with less stress (who knew what treatment was ahead).
B
the pain experienced by heart patients is to some extent beneficial
Nothing in the stimulus supports the idea that pain is beneficial. You have to assume that more pain will bring less stress, which is net beneficial. But that requires too many unreasonable assumptions.
C
the severity of a heart patient’s condition is usually worsened by withholding information from the patient about the treatment that that patient will receive
This is antisupported. The stimulus suggests that withholding information would cause stress, thus *decreasing* a patient’s pain.
D
stress is probably an effect rather than a cause of reduced blood flow to the heart
There is not enough support to make a causal relationship between stress and blood flow to the heart.
E
heart patients suffering from reduced blood flow to the heart who are experiencing pain from the condition are more likely to require surgery than are such patients who are not experiencing pain
E: There is no information in the stimulus about what makes someone likely to require surgery. This requires a lot of assumptions to work.