PrepTest 139, Section 1, Question 17
Politician: A major social problem is children hurting(90 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- ASome of the(23 more words not shown)
- BThe child who(16 more words not shown)
- CThe children who(26 more words not shown)
- DSome children who(22 more words not shown)
- EMany of the(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
They're punching a doll. Are they punching other children?
That's the change the politician needs to explain. The experiment found that children who saw a film of people punching a Bobo doll were more likely to punch that doll afterward. The politician uses the result to explain children hurting other children. But treating a doll one way doesn't establish that they'll treat a person the same way.
What we’re looking for
The film could teach children how to play with this particular object without encouraging them to hit one another. To weaken the argument, I'd look at that missing connection directly: did the children who watched the film become more likely to punch other children, or did the difference stop at the doll?
Working the answers
- A
Some children objected to the doll punching, including some who watched the film. That can coexist with most viewers punching the doll. The politician doesn't claim every child responds the same way, so these exceptions don't undo the group pattern. A also stays with reactions to the doll rather than the claimed harm to other children.
- B
The most enthusiastic doll puncher didn't watch the film. That shows a child can punch the doll without seeing the film; it doesn't show the film had no influence on the other children. One especially active nonviewer doesn't erase the difference between the groups, and it still doesn't address how they treat one another.
- CCorrect
The children who watched the film were no more likely to punch other children than those who didn't. That is the behavior the politician's conclusion concerns. The experiment might show imitation involving a doll while providing no comparable support for the claim about hurting children. C directly weakens the move from the measured behavior to the social problem.
- D
Some nonviewers copied the viewers' doll punching. That gives another way the doll-punching behavior could spread, but it doesn't show whether anyone became more likely to hurt another child. The politician's crucial step remains the jump from aggression toward an object to aggression toward people.
- E
Unfamiliarity with a Bobo doll doesn't establish whether watching the film affected behavior toward other children. It might help explain why some children learned what to do with the doll by watching others. But E doesn't itself supply that explanation or test the particular doll-to-person connection in the conclusion.
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