PrepTest 153, Section 3, Question 13
A study tested the performance of 70 pilots,(57 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(13 more words not shown)
- ADieters often become(10 more words not shown)
- BMany of the(18 more words not shown)
- CReduced-calorie dieting makes(8 more words not shown)
- DMany of the(19 more words not shown)
- EWhereas alcohol has(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What will eating less do to these pilots? At first I could imagine different outcomes: perhaps changing the diet helps them think clearly, or perhaps not getting enough energy makes the task harder. We need the results before choosing a story.
The dieters performed worse, even though they had performed well before. And the reported impairment resembles consuming two alcoholic drinks on an empty stomach. That comparison makes me pause. If someone described a pilot's performance that way, I'd want to understand what was interfering with it, not dismiss the result as a tiny change.
We aren't being given a conclusion to attack. We have a pattern to explain: the dieting pilots' performance declined. Perhaps they had less energy or became sleepy during the task. Those are possible mechanisms linking a reduced-calorie diet to worse performance.
What we’re looking for
The EXCEPT stem turns that search around. Four choices can contribute explanations, and we choose the one that doesn't. Keep asking how each proposed fact could produce the observed impairment; we don't need any single choice to prove the entire cause.
Working the answers
- A
Worrying about weight initially sounds separate from piloting ability. But imagine a pilot trying to concentrate on the test while repeatedly thinking about calorie intake or how they'll look at the beach. Attention going to those worries isn't going to the task. The pilot may retain the same underlying skill and still perform worse because of distraction. That gives A a way to explain the results, despite my initial hesitation. Let's compare it with the remaining choices.
- B
Both groups drank before the tests, but the answer adds that dieting makes people more vulnerable to alcohol's effects. That difference matters. The same exposure could interfere more with the dieting pilots, giving us a route from dieting to their poorer results. We needn't assume anyone flew actual passengers after drinking; the answer concerns the tests described here.
- C
A fatigued pilot might have trouble staying alert or sustaining attention. Irritability could also interfere with doing the task well. This fits our initial thought about reduced energy. It does not require the pilot to fall completely asleep for performance to suffer.
- DCorrect
This tells us why pilots chose to try the diet: they wanted to find out whether weight affects skill. It doesn't tell us why the diet would make them perform worse.
Compare A carefully. In A, worry can interfere with attention while the pilot performs the task. Here, curiosity explains the decision to participate, not an impairment during the task. A pilot could be curious and still concentrate perfectly well. That is why A can contribute to an explanation while D does not.
- E
Glucose is identified as vital to brain function, and dieting lowers its level. That gives us another possible mechanism for poorer performance. The comparison with alcohol concerned the amount of impairment; it never required dieting and alcohol to impair people through the same process. Different mechanisms could produce similar results.
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