PrepTest 142, Section 3, Question 14
"Stealing thunder" is a courtroom strategy that consists(464 more words not shown)
The author's characterization of stealing(11 more words not shown)
- Ainformal surveys of(14 more words not shown)
- Bstatistical surveys of(11 more words not shown)
- Crecords of judges'(13 more words not shown)
- Dinformal observations of(15 more words not shown)
- Eresearch that was(16 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Separate the two kinds of support. We have experiments using simulated trials, and we have broader psychological research about credibility and resistance to persuasion. That second category needn't involve a courtroom to help explain why jurors might react as described.
What we’re looking for
Both halves of the answer must match those sources. A correct reference to simulated trials cannot rescue a different, invented kind of study.
Working the answers
- A
Simulated trials are mentioned, but informal surveys of clients are not. Recognizing the second half doesn't establish the first.
- B
Lawyers commonly believe the technique is useful, but we're not told that researchers statistically surveyed those lawyers or observed their courtroom tactics. A reported belief isn't the same thing as that research method.
- C
Again, simulated courtroom studies fit. Records of judges' decisions do not appear among the sources of support. The focus is how jurors respond, not a study of judicial rulings.
- D
The comparison with politicians' spin illustrates framing; it isn't presented as a set of informal observations used alongside controlled studies of lawyers' courtroom behavior. D doesn't describe the two research categories the author actually uses.
- ECorrect
General psychological experiments supply the research not directly concerned with legal proceedings, while simulated trials supply the courtroom-related research. Together they match the two kinds of evidence we identified.
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