PrepTest 136, Section 4, Question 15
Carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve disorder that affects(60 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(9 more words not shown)
- AOffice workers who(26 more words not shown)
- BFeeling a lack(21 more words not shown)
- CThe keyboards on(21 more words not shown)
- DAmong office workers(25 more words not shown)
- EOffice workers who(30 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
They do similar amounts of typing. So why does the group with less control face almost three times the risk?
My first thought is that the typing itself might differ. Perhaps workers with little control repeat the same data-entry motions, while workers with more control do a greater variety of tasks or writing. That is a possibility to investigate, not something the study tells us.
What we’re looking for
The important restriction is that we cannot explain the result merely by saying the low-control group typed more. The study compares workers who do similar amounts. We need something associated with control that affects the risk even when typing quantity is held roughly steady. The explanation might concern the kind of motion, or it might identify a different route altogether.
Working the answers
- A
This may describe office workers in general, but it does not explain the comparison made in this study. Among the workers being compared, typing amounts are similar. A general tendency for high-control workers to type less cannot account for the remaining difference within groups matched on typing quantity.
- BCorrect
This identifies a different route from the repetition prediction. Feeling little control causes emotional stress, and that stress makes someone more vulnerable to nerve disorders. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve disorder. The low-control workers could therefore face a higher risk even while doing about as much typing as the high-control workers.
- C
This explains why typing on these keyboards might contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome in office workers. It does not distinguish workers with little control from those with more control. A risk shared by both groups does not by itself explain their different rates.
- D
This repeats the association in another group: workers who rarely use keyboards also face greater risk when they feel little control. That may reinforce the idea that typing quantity is not the whole story, but it still does not tell us why control matters. B supplies the missing mechanism through stress.
- E
Additional repetitive motions among high-control workers would give us a reason to expect more risk in that group. The study finds more risk in the low-control group. E therefore points in the wrong direction for explaining the observed difference.
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