A
Cases in which swimmer’s ear progresses to more serious infections are very rare.
B
Most of those who suspected incorrectly that they had swimmer’s ear also believed that they had other ailments that in fact they did not have.
C
Most of the people who diagnosed themselves correctly had been treated by a physician for a prior occurrence of swimmer’s ear.
D
Physicians who specialize in ear diseases are generally able to provide more accurate diagnoses than those provided by general practitioners.
E
For many people who develop swimmer’s ear, the condition disappears without medical or pharmaceutical intervention.
Parent: I had tried without success to get my young child to brush her teeth. I had hoped that she would imitate me, or that she would be persuaded by reason to brush her teeth. Then, I made a point of brushing her teeth for her immediately before reading her a story before her naps and at night. After several weeks, when I would pick up a storybook at these times, she began automatically to retrieve her toothbrush and brush her teeth herself.
Summary
A parent has tried to get a young child to brush their teeth. The parent hoped that the child would imitate them or that the child could be persuaded to do so, but both of these attempts failed to get the child to brush their teeth. Then, the parent started brushing the child’s teeth immediately before reading the child a nighttime story. After several weeks, whenever the parent picked up a storybook the child began to automatically brush their teeth on their own.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Young children adopt a behavior through habit and repetition.
A
Children are most effectively taught to do something by someone’s setting an example.
We don’t know whether children are most effectively taught through example. In the stimulus, the parent attempted to set an example for the child and the example was ineffective in teaching the child to brush their teeth.
B
Children more readily adopt a behavior through habit and repetition than through other means.
In the stimulus, the child learned to brush their teeth through habit and repetition as opposed to persuasion and an example set by their parent.
C
Children are too young to understand rational arguments for adopting a behavior.
We don’t know whether children do not understand arguments for rationale behavior. In the stimulus the parent states that persuasion did not work, but this could be for reasons other than the child’s lack of understanding.
D
Children often imitate the behavior of others rather than listening to reason.
We don’t know whether children often imitate the behavior of others. In the stimulus, the parent attempted to teach a child to brush their teeth by setting an example and the child failed to adopt the behavior.
E
Children ordinarily act contrary to their parents’ expectations in order to get more attention.
We don’t know whether children act a certain way in order to get more attention. In the stimulus the child did act contrary to the parent’s expectations, but this could be for reasons other than the child seeking more attention.