bsd_lover wrote:
Recent research has indicated that married people are not only happier than unmarried people, but also healthier. This study has been widely reported by the media, with most commentators concluding that being married is good for one’s health and attitude.
The conclusion of the media commentators depends on which of the following assumptions?
(A) The longer people are married, the happier and healthier they become.
(B) Married couples who had a large, extravagant wedding are happier than those who had a small, simple ceremony
(C) Married people cannot get depressed.
(D) Single people with depression or health problems are just as likely to get married as are other single people.
(E) Some marriages are more harmonious than others.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Research indicates that there is a connection between being married and being happy and healthy. Media commentators have concluded that marriage causes happiness and health. However, one could reasonably conclude from the research that the cause and effect are the reverse: being happy and healthy makes a person more likely to get married.
(A) The research compared married people to unmarried people. Neither the researchers nor the media commentators made any distinction between newlyweds and those who had been married a long time, so this assumption is not necessary.
(B) The type of wedding is outside the scope of this argument. The research compared married people to unmarried people, but made no distinction based upon the type of wedding. Thus, this assumption is unnecessary.
(C) At first, this statement may seem necessary—after all, if the commentators conclude that marriage causes happiness, a lack of depression in married people would certainly support that conclusion. However, the statement is too extreme. One depressed married person does not invalidate the research indicating that, on average, married people are healthier and happier than non-married people.
(D) CORRECT. This statement eliminates the alternative interpretation of the research findings—that being happy and healthy makes a person more likely to get married.
(E) The research compared married people to unmarried people. Neither the researchers nor the media commentators made any distinction between harmonious marriages and combative marriages, so this assumption is not necessary.
_________________