Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that citizens are becoming increasingly disconnected from politics with each passing generation. This is based on records that show people over 65 vote in the highest percentages, while young adults are the least likely to vote.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The author overlooks the possibility that people become more likely to vote as they get older. In other words, the reason for the disparity in voting rates between old people and young people doesn’t have to be due to a decline in political engagement among more recent generations of people. Each individual generation may be equally likely to vote as other generations when comparing them at similar ages. But likelihood to vote could simply increase with age, for each generation. (A generation is a cohort of people born during a range of particular years.)
A
compares an early stage of one generation to a later stage of another
The argument compares an early stage of one gen. (the young adults’ generation) to a later stage of another (the older people’s generation). This opens the possibility that the disparity in voting is due to the stage of the gen., not a difference between one gen. and another.
B
fails to take into account the relative sizes of the generations compared
The sizes of the generations are irrelevant, because the argument concerns explanations for a disparity in the likelihood of voting. People over 65 are more likely to vote than young adults. The comparative number of each group doesn’t affect how we interpret this disparity.
C
provides evidence for a phenomenon without providing an explanation of the phenomenon
The author does try to provide an explanation of the disparity in voting rates — this is the purpose of the author’s conclusion. (C) therefore doesn’t accurately describe what happens in the argument.
D
confuses the cause of an effect with the effect itself
(D) describes potential reverse causation. But it doesn’t make sense to think that one’s likelihood to vote or one’s level of political engagement could cause one to age or cause one to be part of a generation.
E
overlooks the possibility that voting patterns among age groups will change in the future
The author doesn’t overlook this possibility; in fact the author believes that each generation will be more and more politically disconnected. So the author could very well accept that for each age, future people of that age will be less likely to vote.
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that watching a recording of yourself exercising can motivate you to exercise more. This is based on a study in which one group of participants watched recordings of themselves running, and a second group watched recordings of other people running. Later, the first group reported exercising, on average, 1 hour longer each day than the second group reported exercising.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that the greater reported amount of exercise for the first group reflects a greater actual amount of exercise in that group. (There’s a difference between reported amounts and actual amounts.) The author also assumes that the first group’s watching themselves run caused increased motivation, which in turn caused greater amounts of exercise.
A
In another study, people who watched recordings of themselves lifting weights exercised for more time each day than did people who watched recordings of themselves running.
This suggests that watching yourself doing some kinds of exercise can cause you to exercise more than watching yourself engage in other kinds. But the author never suggested that there was no difference between the potential motivating effects of different exercises.
B
Another study’s members exhibited an increased willingness to give to charity after hearing stories in which people with whom they identified did so.
If (B) does anything, it might strengthen the argument by providing evidence that one might increase a certain behavior after identifying with someone doing that behavior.
C
Participants who were already highly motivated to exercise did not report exercising for any longer each day than they had before the study.
The conclusion doesn’t say that everyone will be motivated by watching themselves exercise. There can be some exceptions. And, we have no reason to think the second group had more of these already-motivated people than the first. So (C) doesn’t provide an alternate hypothesis.
D
In studies of identical twins, participants who observed their twin reading overreported by a significant amount how much time they themselves spent reading in the days that followed.
This suggests that the first group might have overreported the amount they exercised. This provides an alternate hypothesis to explain the results of the study. Maybe watching themselves didn’t actually lead to more exercise in the first group, just exaggerated reports.
E
A third group of participants who watched recordings of themselves sitting on couches afterwards reported being sedentary for more time each day than did the other participants.
If (E) does anything, it might strengthen the argument by providing additional evidence that people report engaging in an activity more after watching themselves do a similar kind of activity.