PrepTest 151, Section 3, Question 5
A person with low self-esteem will be treated(53 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(5 more words not shown)
- Apeople with low(12 more words not shown)
- Bbeing treated disrespectfully(9 more words not shown)
- Cif an individual(16 more words not shown)
- Dpeople with low(16 more words not shown)
- Ea person with(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Keep the actual treatment separate from how it feels.
The first sentence says people with low self-esteem are treated disrespectfully more often. I might ordinarily want evidence for that claim, but here it's part of what we're given. The experiment adds something different: even when two people receive the same treatment, the person with low self-esteem is more likely to interpret it as disrespectful.
What we’re looking for
Those facts point toward more frequent feelings of being disrespected. There's the stated difference in actual treatment, and there's a difference in how identical treatment is perceived. To complete the argument, I'd expect that comparison: people with low self-esteem more often think they're being treated disrespectfully.
Working the answers
- A
More frequent feelings don't establish that those feelings are usually accurate. The first sentence says this group experiences more disrespect, but we aren't told what share of their judgments correctly identifies it. A needs information about accuracy that the passage doesn't supply.
- B
This tries to explain how low self-esteem develops. The passage starts with people who already differ in self-esteem and compares their treatment and reactions. It doesn't establish that disrespect caused the difference in self-esteem.
- C
We aren't told what other people perceive or why they behave disrespectfully. More disrespect occurring toward a group doesn't establish that an individual act was probably caused by someone recognizing low self-esteem. C supplies a motive for other people's behavior rather than the supported comparison of experiences.
- DCorrect
This combines the given facts without explaining their cause or judging the accuracy of anyone's perception. People with low self-esteem are reportedly treated disrespectfully more often, and they are more likely to see the same treatment as disrespectful. Both point toward their more frequently thinking they have been disrespected. D preserves that relative comparison rather than claiming they always feel this way.
- E
How someone is treated doesn't establish how that person treats others. The passage doesn't say that experiencing or perceiving disrespect makes people behave disrespectfully themselves. E would require another connection, which the evidence never gives us.
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