PrepTest 142, Section 2, Question 22
Psychiatrist: In treating first-year students at this university,(60 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(6 more words not shown)
- AAt other universities,(29 more words not shown)
- BScreening of first-year(37 more words not shown)
- CAmong adults between(22 more words not shown)
- DThe screening instruments(17 more words not shown)
- ESeveral of the(29 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if spending is how these students keep their anxiety under control?
The high spenders and low spenders have similar screening scores. But that doesn't tell us what would happen to the high spenders if they changed their behavior. Perhaps they would be much more anxious without the activities they pay for. The low spenders might not need those activities to reach the same score.
There is also a question about the sample: students seeking this psychiatrist's treatment might differ from students generally. And similar scores don't necessarily mean either group is doing well. Both groups could be quite anxious.
What we’re looking for
This is a strengthen-EXCEPT question. Four choices should give the psychiatrist some support, whether by improving confidence in the evidence or by showing that reducing spending can work. We want the one that doesn't help. Support needn't eliminate the concern about comparing different people.
Working the answers
- A
Finding the same pattern among first-year students at other universities makes it less likely to be peculiar to this psychiatrist's university. That's limited support: repeated comparisons still don't prove what happens when a particular student cuts spending. But broader evidence of the pattern lends the suggestion some support, so A isn't the exception.
- B
Students spending a moderate amount report better results than those at either extreme. That suggests a lower-spending group the high spenders might move toward without worse anxiety or depression. It doesn't prove that changing groups causes improvement, but it makes the recommendation more plausible than if every lower-spending group were worse off.
- CCorrect
This concerns adults aged 40 to 60, not a group identified as first-year university students. It also points toward greater spending being associated with less anxiety and depression. Neither feature supports the claim that these high-spending first-year students can safely cut spending. We don't need to prove the finding applies to them and weakens the argument; it is enough that C doesn't strengthen it.
- D
Accurate screening gives us more confidence that the similar scores reflect similar levels of anxiety and depression. It doesn't solve the causal question, but it shores up the evidence the psychiatrist relies on. That counts as support.
- E
These students actually made the proposed change without becoming more anxious or depressed. That is more direct evidence than comparing people who have always spent different amounts. Several successful cases don't guarantee success for every high spender, but they clearly support the possibility the psychiatrist proposes.
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