Announcement for a television program: Are female physicians more sensitive than male physicians to the needs of women patients? To get the answer, we’ll ask physicians of both sexes this question. Tune in tomorrow.
Summarize Argument
The announcement claims that surveying female and male physicians can answer a question about how sensitive each is to the needs of their patients.
Identify and Describe Flaw
This reasoning is flawed because the source for the TV show’s potential claim is biased. If you ask a physician how sensitive they are to the needs of their patients, they will probably answer favorably about themselves. However, if you ask women patients, they are more likely to answer without bias. Thus, if the television program proceeds to base its claim about the sensitivity of physicians on the reports of physicians themselves, its conclusion will likely not be very accurate.
A
Physicians are in general unwilling to describe the treatment style of other physicians.
Our argument never says that the physicians being interviewed will describe other physicians' treatment style. Additionally, treatment style is not necessarily analogous to sensitivity toward patients, so this would not answer the question at hand.
B
There still are fewer women than men who are physicians, so a patient might not have the opportunity to choose a woman as a physician.
The proportion of female doctors compared to male doctors does not change how sensitive each gender is to their patients. Thus, this answer choice does not address the TV show’s question.
C
Those who are best able to provide answers to the question are patients, rather than physicians.
This AC addresses the biased source by highlighting which source would be appropriate for the TV show to use in answering its question. Because doctors are more likely to answer favorably about themselves, the TV show should consult someone less biased, such as patients.
D
Since medical research is often performed on men, not all results are fully applicable to women as patients.
Irrelevant. This stimulus deals with doctor-patient interactions, not with medical research. Therefore, this AC does not address the argument, much less the flaw.
E
Women as patients are now beginning to take a more active role in managing their care and making sure that they understand the medical alternatives.
Even if this were true, it has nothing to do with how sensitive a doctor is to a patient’s needs. Therefore, it does not address the argument or its flaw.
Salvador: Since current demand for antique ivory exceeds the supply, many people who are unconcerned about endangered species but would prefer to buy antique ivory are buying new ivory instead. People sharing your concern about endangered species, therefore, should refrain from buying any ivory at all—thereby ensuring that demand for new ivory will drop.
A
there are substances that can serve as satisfactory substitutes for ivory in its current uses
B
decreased demand for antique ivory would cause a decrease in demand for new ivory
C
people should take steps to avert a threat to the continued existence of elephant herds
D
a widespread refusal to buy new ivory will have a substantial effect on the survival of elephants
E
people concerned about endangered species should refuse to buy ivory objects that are less than 75 years old