PrepTest 124, Section 1, Question 1
Consumer advocate: Businesses are typically motivated primarily by(52 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(8 more words not shown)
- ABusinesses know that(13 more words not shown)
- BBusinesses have often(6 more words not shown)
- CMany consumers have(5 more words not shown)
- DThose who create(13 more words not shown)
- EThe laws regulating(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Wanting to make money doesn't mean a business has to lie. It might simply leave out the less attractive parts of the story. An LSAT class can honestly promise useful instruction without making “You'll have to do a lot of work” the headline of its ad. A selective sales pitch and an outright falsehood aren't the same thing.
Still, I can see why the advocate recommends skepticism. The advertiser wants a sale, and that goal doesn't guarantee accuracy. Before relying on a claim, we might want evidence beyond the advertisement itself.
Could something else protect us? Imagine an effective agency that checked every advertising claim before allowing it to run. In that world, the seller's motives would matter less because someone else would be checking the facts. The argument hasn't addressed that possibility.
What we’re looking for
This is a strengthen EXCEPT question. Four answers will give us more reason to be skeptical—perhaps a reason to expect misleading ads or a reason we can't rely on someone else to screen them. We want the one answer that doesn't help justify the recommendation.
Working the answers
- A
If businesses know inaccurate information usually helps maximize profits, they have a financial reason to use it. That connects their stated goal with a reason to worry about their ads. It doesn't prove every company lies, but it strengthens the case for caution, so eliminate it.
- B
A history of inaccurate advertising gives consumers a concrete reason to check advertising claims. We don't have to assume a profit motive always produces falsehoods: B tells us inaccurate information has often appeared. That's support for skepticism.
- CCorrect
Are consumers cynical, or should they be cynical? Those are different questions. They could distrust perfectly accurate ads without a good reason, or their distrust could be well founded. Merely telling us their current attitude doesn't establish whether that attitude is justified. The conclusion recommends skepticism, and C gives us no additional reason to recommend it.
- D
Accuracy matters less to the people creating ads than creativity does. That gives us reason to worry that an attractive presentation may take priority over getting the facts right. Creativity doesn't require lying, but this priority still supports checking the claims carefully.
- E
Here is a problem with the possible legal protection we considered. Many common forms of inaccurate advertising fall outside the relevant laws. Consumers can't simply count on those laws to handle those inaccuracies, which strengthens the recommendation to be skeptical.
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