Mental Health CR : GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR)

Mental Health CR

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Mental Health CR [#permalink]

05 Aug 2010, 22:31

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Hi Guys,

I came across a CR question whose answer explanations, I couldnt understand.

Q-1) A researcher discovered that people who have low levels of immune-system activity tend to score much
lower on tests of mental health than do people with normal or high immune-system activity. The researcher
concluded from this experiment that the immune system protects against mental illness as well as against
physical disease.
The researcher’s conclusion depends on which of the following assumptions?

A. High immune-system activity protects against mental illness better than normal immune-system activity
does.
B. Mental illness is similar to physical disease in its effects on body systems.
C. People with high immune-system activity cannot develop mental illness.
D. Mental illness does not cause people’s immune-system activity to decrease.
E. Psychological treatment of mental illness is not as effective as is medical treatment.

My query: the researcher is saying that low level of immune system activity means lower on tests of mental health. So why is it not true that if there is mental illness there is a chance that immune system is low. thats why he is scoring low on mental health.

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Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink]

06 Aug 2010, 03:53

Very good question, think it is i OG.
The answer is D, from a logical perspective, but if you use the tactic of negation, then choice C also fits.

I guess this is one of those cases where Gmat wants us to think logically rather than use tactics.

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Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink]

06 Aug 2010, 04:45

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Conclusion : Immune system protects against mental illness. X = immune system Y = protection against mental illness
The most important assumption in the causal argument is the preclusion from reversal of causality. i.e. Y does not leads to X. D does that.

D. Mental illness does not cause people’s immune-system activity to decrease. ---> Y does NOT leads to X.

Hope this is clear.
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Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink]

08 Aug 2010, 04:02

this is just an alternate causation
the ans is straight D
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Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink]

08 Aug 2010, 09:11

What is alternate causation?

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Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink]

08 Aug 2010, 15:30

D for me.

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Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink]

09 Aug 2010, 01:54

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D it is.

This is the classic problem of Defender Assumption.

It usually happens when two events A and B happen at the same time and Researcher then conclude that one event lead to the event say A leads to B. Of course then the assumption has to be that B doesn't lead to A. If B leads to A, how can you say A leads to B.

Re: Mental Health CR [#permalink] 09 Aug 2010, 01:54

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