A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middl

My answer is B as well.
B.middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.

A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates. The psychologists also found that the students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity. Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.

The argument put forth by the psychologists assumes that

A.achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children.
B.middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
C.a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
D.most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
E.middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm.

Psychologists believe --> Students who impress teachers =/= Not make friends with class mates.

Therefore Eliminate A, C & E.

D ==> Most middle school children is not correct and "do not have the goal of achieving polularity" is also not the correct assuption.

B is the right answer.

Answer B
It bridges the gap and also pass negation test.

Main goal of most students is to be popular and befriend guys with same interests.
And those who strive to impress, do NOT make friends with most of their classmates.

So most students are popular and few are not.
Those few who are not,:
1) Obviously do not share the goal of being popular. Because this is what is needed to jump into this "popular" gang.
2) are those who strive to impress. Because if they strove to be popular, they would have been in this "popular" gang.

A.achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children.
Doesn't matter, whether it is single of group. All we know is that it is done and those people comprising "most" of the students.

B.middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
Say even if they regard those who strive to impress as popular, are they really are popular or have the goal of being popular? Don't know.
Also, if they did regard those who strive to impress as popular, these students from "popular" gang would have befriended them already

C.a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
We don't know if the student can impress a teacher by doing what choice C says. All we know from the argument is that some students are "who strive to impress" and nothing about their strategy to impress.

D.most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
True. Matches our Assumption 1) from pre-thinking.

E.middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm.
This is very irrelevant and tells what students in general do. We don't have conclusion about students in "general". There might be students who are in neither camp, not in popular nor trying to impress, and we do not know how they treat or are treated by others.

P.S.: I have to say that I loved this question, because I was fixated on 3 tempting choices for quite some time.

picked D.
students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity
so no common interest - no friends.
is in the wording of the argument.
D seems to be the best.

B does not work, as we are not interested whether such students are regarded as popular or not.
the key moment here: "will not make friends with most of their classmates"

Premise:
1. Most main goal = Gain popularity among classmates
2. Popular seekers only make friends with other popular seekers.

Conclusion:
Strive to impress teachers -> Not make friend with most of the classmates

Underlying assumption:
Strive to impress teachers = not considered a popular act by most classmates. This is what D says.

My analysis is below..

Structure
Conc: Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.
P1: Recent study: main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates.
P2: psychologists found: students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity.

Pre-thinking
In order to find the assumption, we will falsify the conclusion: In which scenario middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will make friends with most of their classmates?? Well the scenarios would be that:
-impressing teacher is actually a sign a sign of pursuing popularity.
-Most of the classmates believe that people who successfully impress teachers also pursue popularity.

So the assumptions would be the negation of those scenarios:
-impressing teacher is not a sign a sign of pursuing popularity.
-Most of the classmates believe that people who successfully impress teachers don't pursue popularity.


Answer choice analysis
A.achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children. Incorrect
Premises state that the individual goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by classmates.

B.middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher. Incorrect
This option indicates a general assumption about all middle school students. Also, this option talks about a situation in which a student is considered popular. But, the argument is focus on the common goal of students of pursuing popularity. Students don't qualify a person as popular or not because of this action, but they sympathize with other students who have same goal of becoming popular. Perhaps a student who successfully impress a teacher is not popular yet, but the fact his/her goal is to be popular makes him/her to establish a friendship with most of classmates (who share the same goal). If negated: middle school students regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher, doesn't affect the conclusion because perhaps that person doesn't have the goal of be popular.

C.a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students. Irrelevant
There is no discussion about how a student can impress teachers.

D.most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity. Correct!
Aligned with pre-thinking. If negated, the conclusion won't hold true.

E.middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm. OFS
Common believe about student's cruelty is not in discussion. Also, different from the norm is too broad. The argument's scope relies on the student's goal to be popular.

Premise: A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates.
Premise: The psychologists also found that the students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity.

Conclusion: Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.
Middle school students want to be popular ……….these students make friends with popular students or students with shared interest for popularity
Students who want to impress teachers………do not make most of the classmates their friends
Now who these ‘MOST’ constitute?

Let’s look at the options:

A. achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children.
OUT OF SCOPE. This choice in no way helps us to understand the conclusion better.

B. middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
If this is the case then there is no need for the students who want to be popular to impress a teacher.

C. a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
If a student cannot impress a teacher by not fraternizing/ (associating) with the popular crowd of students then he will not make much friends as stated in the conclusion. So incorrect.


D. most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
Let’s negate this statement. MOST middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher HAVE the goal of achieving popularity. If this is the case then students of the class would want to be friends with this student to achieve popularity. So this choice damages the conclusion.

E. middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm.
OUT OF SCOPE. This choice in no way helps us to understand the conclusion better.


I have one doubt though...
Choice C clearly states that a student can impress a teacher by NOT FRATERNIZING with the popular crowd of students. If we negate this choice, we get ' a student can impress a teacher by fraternizing with the popular crowd of students. The negated statement supports the conclusion. Can anyone please explain this point?

And in the conclusion it states that thus students will not make friends with MOST of the students in the class.... Here should we assume that the popular students or students who want to be popular constitute 'MOST' of the class?


Thanks

The argument is not about whether a student can or cannot impress a teacher in a certain way. The argument is about what the students believe.

A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates. The psychologists also found that the students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity. Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.

Main goal :- To look popular
friendship based on desire to be popular

The arguments jump from this to this => any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.

Gap :-
1. what if impressing their teachers meaning increase in popularity
2. whoever can impress teacher is popular hence most of the students wants to be friend with him.

The argument put forth by the psychologists assumes that

B.middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
Negate this
middle school students do regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
But the point is :
so I am a student, I want to be popular. I want to be popular the same goal. People who are considered popular already may or may not be sharing the goal of achieving popularity.
so it might be the case that any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers => Although I regard him as popular => will not make friends with me.

C.a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
negate this
a student [color=#ff0000]can not impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
It has actually nothing to do with the conclusion. [/color]

Lets say I am the student.
I can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students
OR
I can impress a teacher by my knowledge.

So if I am the 1st one, I will not make friend with anyone.
But If I am the 2nd one, I will impress my teacher by my knowledge and still would like to be friend with rest of the crowd. Conclusion stands valid.


D.most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
Negate this:
No middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
So they believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do have the goal of achieving popularity. Ok, then they will become friends as they share the same goal.

The answer is D
This is an interesting question
In questions like this we have to stick close to the language and words of the argument
Initially i thought that the answer was B but rereading the argument again helped to find out the correct answer D
The main Sentence of the argument is " students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity."
So here the students had a goal of becoming popular , so we see the answer is clearly D

[quote="bhavinshah5685"]A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates. The psychologists also found that the students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity. Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.

The argument put forth by the psychologists assumes that

A.achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children.
B.middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher. -> baldface area gives us some clue
C.a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
D.most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
E.middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm.

B and D could be contenders.

But in B
regard as popular // share the goal of achieving popularity

between them, there is slight difference.


So D should be an answer.

The question directly asks for what the psychologists assume, making this an Assumption question.

The psychologists conclude that students who strive to impress a teacher will find it difficult to make friends with their classmates. As evidence, the psychologists put forth two pieces of information: first that most students wish to be popular, and second that these students will only be friends with other students with the same goal.

In order to conclude that a student will be ostracized based on an attempt to impress the teacher, the psychologists assume that this will be viewed by other students as a sign that the impressing child does not wish to be popular. This is stated in correct choice (D).

(A) and (E) are irrelevant to the argument. The psychologists do not say anything about the popularity of individuals vs. groups, nor do they discuss the cruelty of middle school students.

(B) may seem tempting, but the argument revolves around the desire to be popular, not popularity itself. (B) does not discuss the desire to be popular and is thus incorrect.

(C) deals with how to impress a teacher. What is relevant to the argument is the desire to impress a teacher, not how to actually accomplish it.

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A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates. The psychologists also found that the students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity. Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.

The argument put forth by the psychologists assumes that


A. achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children.
B. middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
C. a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
D. most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
E. middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm.

main point by negating:
1. the guy who tries to impress teacher will make friendship with classmates
given that a) he makes friends with other if they share same goal and b) main goal is to be viewed as 'popular'

pre-think
1. what if his class mates also try to impress the teachers or what if they share same goal i.e. impress the teacher

look at the options
A. achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children.
achieving can be done by one person or other is not the main point. hence incorrect

B. middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher.
even if they respect someone who tries to impress doesnot mean they share the same goal. hence not correct

C. a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students.
popular crowd of students = out of scope

D. most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity.
if other students believe that attmpt to impress is achieving popularity, then they share the same belief with the guy
who is trying to impress. hence they share the same goal. it is correct

E. middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm.
even if they are known to be not cruel with classmate, it doesnot imply they will be friends!. hence it is not correct

A recent study by psychologists found that the main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates. The psychologists also found that the students who seek to be popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity. Therefore, the psychologists argued, any middle school students who strive to impress their teachers will not make friends with most of their classmates.
main goal of most middle school students is to be viewed as popular by their classmates
popular will only take as friends other students who share the goal of achieving popularity
---> Most students want to make friends with those who have same goal of popularity
If those who strive to impress teachers, don't have friends with most students
--->Prethink: most students and this one don't have same goal of being popular
The argument put forth by the psychologists assumes that


A. achieving popularity is often not done by a single individual, but rather by a group of children. irrelevant
B. middle school students do not regard as popular anyone who strives to impress a teacher. Conclusion is not about whom students regard --> irrelevant
C. a student can impress a teacher by not fraternizing with the popular crowd of students. irrelevant as B
D. most middle school children believe that those who strive to impress a teacher do not have the goal of achieving popularity. Aligned with prethinking
E. middle school students are known to be particularly cruel to classmates that are considered different from the norm. irrelevant as cruelty is not discussed

@experts daagh GMATNinja

Is this a valid GMAT question? There is too much ambiguity between B and D.

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma
egmat
Can you please explain this question ?

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