PrepTest 158, Section 2, Question 15
Psychologist: We measured the "cognitive plasticity," or the(70 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- ASome of the(8 more words not shown)
- BIn most cases,(11 more words not shown)
- COther studies have(12 more words not shown)
- DA study of(10 more words not shown)
- EMost of the(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Being willing to change my mind doesn't mean I want to go rock climbing.
The psychologist measured openness to new ideas. In this study, first-born children were less open than their siblings. Let's accept that finding. The next claim is the one I want help with: people who accept new ideas will also be adventurous in other ways. Why should those two traits travel together?
Someone could happily reconsider an opinion while avoiding physical risks. Someone else might love risky adventures while remaining stubborn about ideas. Those possibilities show why a result about accepting ideas doesn't automatically give us a result about adventurousness.
What we’re looking for
To strengthen the argument, connect the measured trait with the trait in the conclusion. I'd want evidence that cognitive plasticity—willingness to accept new ideas—goes along with being adventurous. That would give the psychologist a better reason to extend the study's finding beyond the particular trait it measured.
Working the answers
- A
Creativity isn't the adventurousness we're trying to establish. Some great creative figures being first-born doesn't tell us whether first-borns are generally more or less willing to take risks than their siblings. A few prominent individuals also wouldn't settle the study's broader tendency.
- B
This compares people by how many younger siblings they have. Having five younger siblings rather than one might tell us something about cognitive plasticity under this new finding, but the answer still never connects that plasticity to adventurousness. The argument's missing link remains.
- CCorrect
Other research connects cognitive plasticity with willingness to take risks. That supports the move from being open to ideas to being adventurous in another way. The measured trait now has evidence linking it to something relevant to the conclusion.
Willingness to take risks isn't a perfect substitute for every meaning of “adventurous,” so we shouldn't pretend C proves a complete identity between the traits. But we're strengthening, not proving the conclusion. C is the only choice that directly supports the connection the psychologist needs.
- D
Having older siblings doesn't prevent someone from becoming an industry leader. But business success isn't the same as adventurousness, and D doesn't tell us how these executives approach risk. We would have to supply that connection ourselves.
- E
How participants describe their adaptability doesn't establish their willingness to take risks. It also doesn't compare first-borns with their siblings on adventurousness. We need evidence supporting the psychologist's extension from the measured trait, not another statement about participants' self-perception.
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