PrepTest 129, Section 3, Question 18
A study found that patients referred by their(44 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AIt ignores the(27 more words not shown)
- BIt ignores the(28 more words not shown)
- CIt presumes, without(19 more words not shown)
- DIt ignores the(28 more words not shown)
- EIt presumes, without(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why did those patients make more progress? Before giving the credit to their therapists, I'd want to know how doctors decided whom to send to each group.
Perhaps the experimental practitioners receive the easier cases, while doctors send people with more difficult problems to traditional practitioners whose methods are familiar. Or the patient groups could differ in resources or commitment to treatment. The study tells us about referrals, not random assignment of comparable patients.
If one group starts with problems that are easier to treat, it could make more progress even with therapists who are no better. Imagine two equally capable therapists, one seeing readily manageable cases and the other seeing particularly difficult cases. Different progress would not by itself show a difference in the therapists' effectiveness.
What we’re looking for
For the flaw question, I'd look for this overlooked difference between the patients. We can accept the progress figures while questioning whether the comparison gives the therapists equal challenges.
Working the answers
- A
Using the same techniques does not guarantee that therapists are equally effective. They could differ in how well they apply those techniques or in other aspects of their work. The conclusion compares the therapists' effectiveness, so overlap in techniques does not by itself undermine it.
- BCorrect
The experimental practitioners' patients may have had problems more amenable to treatment: problems that were easier to improve. That supplies an alternative explanation for their greater progress without attributing it to more effective therapists. Comparing results without considering that difference can reward the group that received easier cases.
- C
A therapist could be trained in both forms while practicing one of them with the patients in this study. The argument compares what the therapists were practicing, not whether they had ever learned other methods. It does not require the groups' training to be mutually exclusive.
- D
A relevant personality difference could help explain why one set of therapists really is more effective. Perhaps their way of interacting with patients makes their treatment more successful. That would challenge a narrower claim that the new technique alone deserves credit, but the actual conclusion is about the therapists. D does not identify the patient-comparison problem that undermines that conclusion.
- E
Rapport could affect treatment and still fit the conclusion that these therapists are more effective. The author need not assume it has no influence. If one group is better at establishing rapport, that could be part of its effectiveness. The argument's unsupported comparison concerns what the patients brought to treatment, which B addresses directly.
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