CR: Psychoanalytic

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I've got this one right but I am posting here to know whether my reasoning was correct. Please provide your explanation.

According to psychoanalytic theory, people have unconscious beliefs that are kept from becoming conscious by a psychological mechanism termed “repression.” Researchers investigating the nature of this mechanism observed occasions on which a patient undergoing therapy became aware of and expressed a previously unconscious belief. They found that such occasions were marked by an unusual decrease in the patient’s level of anxiety.

If the information above is true, and if the researchers’ investigation was properly conducted, then which of the following must also be true?

(A) Changes in the patient’s anxiety level during therapy can generally be used as an accurate measure of the extent to which the patient is becoming conscious of previously repressed beliefs.
(B) Even when one of a patient’s unconscious beliefs remains unconscious, researchers are sometimes able to discover this belief.
(C) If psychoanalytic theory is correct, then most conscious beliefs originate as unconscious beliefs.
(D) Researchers were able to distinguish expressed beliefs that had previously been unconscious from those that had long been conscious but that the patient had not previously expressed.
(E) Although the beliefs on which the mechanism of repression works are all unconscious, the operation of the mechanism itself is something of which patients are consciously aware.

Straight forward Assumption

Go through each answer choice & negate... 30 second CR.

Negate D:
(D) Researchers were NOT able to distinguish expressed beliefs that had previously been unconscious from those that had long been conscious but that the patient had not previously expressed.

Final Answer, D.

Very tricky question, IMO E (use POE)

According to psychoanalytic theory, people have unconscious beliefs that are kept from becoming conscious by a psychological mechanism termed “repression.” Researchers investigating the nature of this mechanism observed occasions on which a patient undergoing therapy became aware of and expressed a previously unconscious belief. They found that such occasions were marked by an unusual decrease in the patient’s level of anxiety.
If the information above is true, and if the researchers’ investigation was properly conducted, then which of the following must also be true?
(A) Changes in the patient’s anxiety level during therapy can generally be used as an accurate measure of the extent to which the patient is becoming conscious of previously repressed beliefs -->just mentioning about unconscious beliefs, we can't conclude anything about a conscious beliefs. One more, what is repressed belief ?
(B) Even when one of a patient’s unconscious beliefs remains unconscious, researchers are sometimes able to discover this belief -->the fact is about unconscious belief became conscious belief (became aware of ...), so this choice is irrelevant
(C) If psychoanalytic theory is correct, then most conscious beliefs originate as unconscious beliefs. -->ridiculous
(D) Researchers were able to distinguish expressed beliefs that had previously been unconscious from those that had long been conscious but that the patient had not previously expressed. -->very wordy but impressive. However, conscious belief is not mentioned, so I eliminate it
(E) Although the beliefs on which the mechanism of repression works are all unconscious, the operation of the mechanism itself is something of which patients are consciously aware --> initially choose by POE, after that, still stick with it: ...on which a patient undergoing therapy became aware of and expressed a previously unconscious belief...--> patients becomes awareness although still expressing an unconscious belief

It took a while to understand that it is an assumption question and not an inference question.

Answer is clearly D.

Why is it an assumption question ? From which evidence stated in the question ? Can you give me a clearer explanation ?

If it is an assumption, yes, D is the best, obviously

I think this is an inference question, and i still came with D.

I think (A) is the best. It seems consistent with the original info that suggests changes in anxiety level --> changes in repression mechanism --> awareness of unconscious belief

(B) The original info suggests patients EXPRESSED beliefs AFTER becoming aware of them, so this cannot be concluded from the info.
(C) Can't be determined by info.
(D) can't be determined
(E) don't know, can't be determined.

Reread the question & other responses, I think D might be right, not sure though. I thought of it as a conclusions question instead...

IMO D, as if researchers are not able to find this difference then their conclusion can't be valid.

Premise: Repression kept conscious thought from being unconscious.
Premise: Recent Research shows that decrease in anxiety reveals those unconsciousness.

I think that this should be an inference question because Assumption question must have a clear conclusion.

(A) Changes in the patient’s anxiety level during therapy can generally be used as an accurate measure of the extent to which the patient is becoming conscious of previously repressed beliefs.
-- Too much specific "accurate measure"
(B) Even when one of a patient’s unconscious beliefs remains unconscious, researchers are sometimes able to discover this belief.
-- this is nowhere mentioned.
(C) If psychoanalytic theory is correct, then most conscious beliefs originate as unconscious beliefs.
-- Again too specific.
(D) Researchers were able to distinguish expressed beliefs that had previously been unconscious from those that had long been conscious but that the patient had not previously expressed.
-- Yes. OA is the same
(E) Although the beliefs on which the mechanism of repression works are all unconscious, the operation of the mechanism itself is something of which patients are consciously aware. -- New information OOS

Ans is clearly D

Could someone please explain in more detail? Where does it say anything about this in the passage?

The options except B and D are not relevant.

Even though i've chose D as an answer, but can not specify exactly why should anyone eliminate B.

Will somebody confirm?

B is a shell game answer (it takes something that was mentioned in the stimulus and attributes it to something else).

(B) Even when one of a patient’s unconscious beliefs remains unconscious, researchers are sometimes able to discover this belief.

It is not the researchers that are able to discover the belief, it is the patients.

check the stimulus:

"...Researchers investigating the nature of this mechanism observed occasions on which a patient undergoing therapy became aware of and expressed a previously unconscious belief...."

if you negate D, then the conclusion does not hold..

(D) Researchers were NOT able to distinguish expressed beliefs that had previously been unconscious from those that had long been conscious but that the patient had not previously expressed.

If researchers cannot distinguish between what was an unconscious vs a conscious one, then how do they know the patient was able to discover an unconscious belief?

When the conclusion fails with a negated assumption then that assumption must be true in order for the conclusion to be true.
Answer is D

This is a correlation error. Just because two things happen at the same time doesn't mean that one caused the other or is required by the other. The stimulus never says that a lower anxiety is a required condition for awareness of unconscious belief. It doesn't say that a lower anxiety causes, precedes or follows awareness/expression of unconscious beliefs...etc..