PrepTest 124, Section 3, Question 5
Brain-scanning technology provides information about processes occurring in(69 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AIt is unlikely(16 more words not shown)
- BThere is no(21 more words not shown)
- CBecause subjects whose(23 more words not shown)
- DBrain scans can(16 more words not shown)
- EInformation from brain(26 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If someone says they're thinking about flowers while actually thinking about a violent scene, what would the researcher be labeling on the scan?
The scan could record real brain activity while the spoken report gives that activity the wrong description. That's why the author says reliable reports matter: to connect the brain data with what the person is thinking, researchers need the two to line up. This example doesn't require a particular 'flowers part' or 'violence part' of the brain. The problem is misidentifying which thought accompanied the recorded activity.
I can still ask whether other methods might help. Could comparing thousands of participants make misleading reports easier to spot? Could a study use other information about what participants are experiencing? Those are questions to investigate, not established ways around the requirement.
What we’re looking for
But we're identifying the main conclusion. The final sentence explains what could go wrong without accurate reports, so it supports the earlier claim that researchers must be able to rely on them. That's the point to find in the answers. A statement can express a requirement and still be the conclusion when the author gives a reason for accepting that requirement.
Working the answers
- A
The author doesn't predict that brain scans will probably never help us understand thought. The claim is conditional: for them to help in the described way, the reports need to be reliable. A requirement for success is different from a prediction that success is unlikely.
- B
We aren't told that researchers can never know whether reports are accurate. The author explains why accuracy is needed, not whether achieving it is impossible. B turns a requirement into a claim that the requirement cannot be reliably met.
- C
The passage identifies a reason accurate reports matter. It doesn't conclude that the field's results should generally be viewed with great skepticism. We shouldn't turn a possible problem into a broad recommendation the author never makes.
- D
This runs the relationship in the wrong direction. The author says accurate reports help researchers interpret the scans. D says the scans can help determine whether the reports are accurate. That is a different claim, not the conclusion supported by the warning about mismatched thoughts and data.
- ECorrect
The scan information helps researchers understand thinking only if the participants' verbal reports are accurate. This restates the requirement the author supports. The possibility of recording a different thought from the one reported explains why that requirement matters.
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