PrepTest 155, Section 2, Question 14
In a study, six medical students were each(105 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AOn the second(19 more words not shown)
- BAt most one(20 more words not shown)
- CThe second attending(15 more words not shown)
- DOn the second(17 more words not shown)
- EAt least some(27 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The suggestion seems to have stuck. A week later, each student starts with the condition that was mentioned earlier.
Be precise about what the students do, though. They begin by testing a diagnosis. They don't necessarily announce that the patient has that condition. Testing a possibility is different from believing it is the answer.
In the first encounter, each of the six students receives a different suggestion from the attending physician. In the second encounter, without a fresh leading question, each student starts by testing that student's earlier suggestion. My first thought is that the study illustrates the influence of suggestion on what people consider first.
What we’re looking for
The most-supported question may capture that broad idea, or it may focus on a more specific consequence of the setup. We need an answer grounded in what the students actually did, rather than an assumption about everything they knew or believed.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This is a different observation from my initial prediction, but it follows directly. Student 1 was prompted about condition A and later began by testing A. Student 2 was prompted about B and later began with B. Continue that pattern through the six students: each received a different original suggestion, and each started with that suggestion the next week. So no two students began by testing the same diagnosis.
- B
Choosing different first tests doesn't tell us how many students knew which condition was most likely. A student might know that one condition is most likely and still begin by trying to rule out another. The original prompt itself asked about ruling a diagnosis out. Several students could share the same knowledge while choosing different starting tests. We can't infer their knowledge from this behavior alone.
- C
The second physician didn't ask leading questions. That describes the physician's behavior, not awareness of the earlier encounter. The physician could know all about the first session and deliberately avoid prompting the students, or could know nothing about it. Both fit the information.
- D
We don't know that the actual cause was among the six conditions suggested. The students could begin with A through F while the patient actually had condition Z. Nor are we told all the tests they eventually ordered. Different starting diagnoses don't establish that exactly one student tested for the true cause.
- E
The students might all understand that several conditions can produce these symptoms. Each would still have to choose somewhere to begin testing. Starting with one possibility doesn't show ignorance of the others, and the passage gives us no separate evidence about that awareness.
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