cbrf3 wrote:
Financial success does not guarantee happiness. This claim is not mere proverbial wisdom but a fact verified by statistics. In a recently concluded survey, only one-third of the respondents who claimed to have achieved financial success reported that they were happy.
Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the conclusion drawn from the survey results?
(A) The respondents who reported financial success were, for the most part, financially successful
(B) Financial success was once thought to be necessary for happiness but is no longer considered a prerequisite for happiness
(C) Many of the respondents who claimed not to have achieved financial success reported that they were happy five years ago
(D) Many of the respondents who failed to report financial success were in fact financially successful
(E) Most of the respondents who reported they were unhappy were in fact happy.
Survey - only one-third of the respondents who claimed to have achieved financial success reported that they were happy
Conclusion: Financial success does not guarantee happiness.
As discussed number of times before, the most important point in CR questions is to understand the argument well. Look at what the survey found - 1/3 of respondents who
claimed to have fin success reported happiness.
But our conclusion says fin success does not guarantee happiness. It does not say that people who claim to have fin success needn't be happy.
So even before you move on to the options, you should note this difference in wording.
Which option supports the conclusion:
(A) The respondents who reported financial success were, for the most part, financially successful
This option tells us that most of those who claim to be financially successful, actually are financially successful. Then the results of the survey are actually valid. This does support that financial success does not guarantee happiness.
(B) Financial success was once thought to be necessary for happiness but is no longer considered a prerequisite for happiness
Our conclusion says that fin success is not sufficient for happiness. Whether it is necessary for happiness or not, is irrelevant to our argument.
(C) Many of the respondents who claimed not to have achieved financial success reported that they were happy five years ago
Were they financially successful five years ago or not, we don't know. So this option is irrelevant. No need to evaluate.
(D) Many of the respondents who failed to report financial success were in fact financially successful
The survey does not care about those who did not report financial success. We are only told about the result of those who claimed to be financially successful. Our conclusion is then drawn from only that pool. Say there were 500 participants. 200 said they were financially successful. 65 of these 200 said they were happy. Are we bothered about the 300 who said they were not fin successful? No. The survey results do not talk about them.
We don't now whether those who failed to report fin success reported being happy or not. Hence, this does not help establish our conclusion.
(E) Most of the respondents who reported they were unhappy were in fact happy.
This doesn't help our conclusion. If anything, it weakens it a tad.
Answer (A)