PrepTest 148, Section 1, Question 9
Some managers think that the best way to(45 more words not shown)
The conclusion of the argument(12 more words not shown)
- AThose who are(8 more words not shown)
- BThe winner of(11 more words not shown)
- CWhen competitors perceive(9 more words not shown)
- DDoubting one's own(8 more words not shown)
- ECompetitors who work(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Feeling outmatched could make competition discouraging. Imagine an ordinary basketball player facing an elite professional: the player might think trying hard won't make any difference. Some employees could respond that way when a coworker seems far better than everyone else.
What we’re looking for
But does the discouragement actually hurt performance? Someone could doubt their chances of winning and still do their usual quality of work. We are told the employees become anxious and doubtful, then asked to accept that competition can undermine performance. For the assumption that makes the conclusion follow, connect those two points. If doubting your ability can reduce how well you perform, competition that creates that doubt can work against its own goal.
Working the answers
- A
Who wins doesn't settle whether the other employees perform worse. An employee could lose to a stronger coworker while doing the same work as before—or even better work. The argument needs a connection between the induced doubt and performance, not confirmation that the apparent favorite usually wins.
- B
Effort may help determine the winner, but the conclusion is about competition undermining employee performance. We aren't told that the anxious employees exert less effort, and identifying a common trait of winners doesn't fill that gap.
- C
Better performance when a contest seems winnable doesn't establish worse performance when it doesn't. Perhaps employees who think they can win improve, while employees who think they can't win simply stay at their usual level. C would be true in that situation without establishing the harm the author claims can occur.
- DCorrect
This supplies the missing effect of doubt. We already know stiff competition can make employees doubt their ability when someone else seems clearly superior. If that doubt can decrease performance, the competition can reduce the very performance it was intended to maximize. The conclusion only says this can happen, not that every competition harms every employee.
- E
This says something about the competitors who undermine others' confidence: they often do better in competitions. That doesn't tell us whether the people losing confidence perform worse than they otherwise would. Better relative standing for the underminer could arise in different ways. D directly connects the victims' doubt to a decline in their own performance.
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