Quote:
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?
Hi
AndrewN sir
VeritasKarishma Could you give comment on my approach of handling assumption question. It will help me to build skills on this base. Your comments would be appreciable. Please add suggestions.
Approach:
Step 1: Understand the meaning of option
Step2: Check impact on Conclusion
Step3: If does not WEAKEN, try negate.
Step 4: If breaks down the reasoning of conclusion then it is an assumption
Quote:
(A) High immune-system activity protects against mental illness better than normal immune-system activity does.
1. It means immune system activities protects against mental illness.
2. It means immune system plays an important role in protection. It doesn’t weaken our conclusion.
3. Negate: high Immune system activity doesn’t protect better than normal immunity system activities against mental illness.
4. Our conclusion can still hold be true that immune system protects against mental illness as well against physical disease.
Hence it is not an assumption.
Quote:
(B) Mental illness is similar to physical disease in its effects on body systems.
1. Meaning: Mental Illness is similar to physical disease in ITS EFFECTS ON BODY SYSTEMS.
2. How doesn’t affect matter to conclusion that immune system protects against mental illness as well as against physical disease.
Hence it has no impact on conclusion. So we no need to do any negation.
Quote:
(C) People with high immune-system activity cannot develop mental illness.
1. It means high immune system activity plays an important role against mental illness.
2. It doesn’t weaken the claim that immune system can protect against mental illness and physical disease.
3. Negate: High immune system can develop mental illness.
Impact on conclusion: It doesn’t impact whether immune system can still protect against mental illness and physical disease.
4. Since it doesn’t break down our conclusion. Hence it is not an assumption.
Quote:
(D) Mental illness does not cause people’s immune-system activity to decrease.
Meaning: Mental illness doesn’t cause people immune system activity to decrease.
2. It means immune system may or may not have some role to play . Lets negate to see the impact.
3. negate: mental illness cause people immunce system to decrease
4. break down our conclusion : if mental illness cause people immune system to decrease then it immune system doesn’t protect against mental illness
-> It breaks down our conclusion. Hence it is assumption.
Quote:
(E) Psychological treatment of mental illness is not as effective as is medical treatment.
1. It talks about one treatment vs another treatment.
2. It doesn’t impact our conclusion that immune system protects against mental illness.
-> So it is not a strengthener. So we no need to do any negation. Hence it cannot be an assumption.
Thanks!