PrepTest 121, Section 1, Question 3
A recent study proves that at least some(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(12 more words not shown)
- AMost of the(7 more words not shown)
- BThe person recording(15 more words not shown)
- CA similar result(14 more words not shown)
- DThe room in(8 more words not shown)
- EThe subjects were(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A sixth sense? Before accepting that, I'd want to know what else could explain these guesses.
The subjects faced away from the window and answered correctly 60 percent of the time. That might be interesting, but how many attempts were there? Six correct guesses out of ten wouldn't, by itself, be impressive evidence of a new sense. Without the study's size and design, we can't simply declare that 60 percent rules out chance.
And facing away doesn't necessarily eliminate ordinary clues. What if a reflection or shadow gives away the observer? What if someone in the room unintentionally signals when a person is at the window? We should investigate those possibilities before attributing the result to an independent sixth sense.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to strengthen the conclusion. Ideally, I'd like evidence that the result is too consistent to dismiss as chance and that the subjects aren't using ordinary sight or hearing. An answer needn't settle every concern. If it helps rule out one plausible alternative explanation, it can make the sixth-sense account more convincing.
Working the answers
- A
Saying “I'm being watched” often isn't the same as knowing when you're being watched. We need to connect the subjects' responses to what was actually happening. A tendency to give one answer tells us little without knowing how often that answer was correct and how often someone was watching.
- B
After the experiment is too late to influence the guesses already made. Avoiding interaction during the test could help address our worry about accidental signals. Avoiding interaction afterward doesn't tell us whether such clues affected the results.
- CCorrect
The similar result appears when the observer is in another room watching a monitor. That makes our window-based explanations less convincing: a person behind the window can't give themselves away through a reflection or shadow if they aren't there.
We also now have a similar result in a different setup. C doesn't prove a sixth sense or establish that every ordinary clue was eliminated. But it gives the conclusion more support by showing that the result persists when an obvious source of visual clues is removed.
- D
That opens up another ordinary explanation. Perhaps subjects heard the person watching them. Hearing someone through the window would not demonstrate an independent sixth sense, so this detail raises a concern instead of helping answer one.
- E
Being a psychology graduate student doesn't establish an unusual ability to detect observers. We aren't told that these students have special powers or that their academic background eliminates the alternative explanations. Their identity doesn't tell us why the guesses were accurate.
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