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24 Dec 2025, 06:14
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
70% (02:06) correct
30%
(02:29)
wrong
based on 228
sessions
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Result
Not Attempted Yet
A psychological study was conducted to determine whether people apply different moral standards to themselves and to others. Each subject in the study was allowed to choose between receiving 30 percent or 70 percent of a cash prize and was told that another volunteer would receive the other part of the prize. Each subject could also have a coin toss decide the distribution of the prize at random. The majority of subjects chose to receive 70 percent of the prize, later claiming that they had acted fairly. However, when another subject group was told about the scenario, almost all said that choosing to keep 70 percent of the prize would be unfair. Clearly, most people apply weaker moral standards to themselves than they do to others.
Which of the following is an assumption required by this argument?
(A) At least some subjects were given 30 percent of the prize and felt that it was unfair.
(B) Having a coin toss decide the distribution of the prize at random would have been the most ethical option for the subjects.
(C) At least some subjects who claimed that they had acted fairly in choosing to receive 70 percent of the prize would have said that it was unfair for someone else to do so.
(D) The subjects who were told about the scenario were, on average, more accurate in their moral judgments than the other subjects were.
(E) At least some subjects who had to choose between deciding the distribution of the prize themselves and having a coin toss decide it felt that they had made the only fair choice they could.
Which of the following is an assumption required by this argument?
(A) At least some subjects were given 30 percent of the prize and felt that it was unfair.
(B) Having a coin toss decide the distribution of the prize at random would have been the most ethical option for the subjects.
(C) At least some subjects who claimed that they had acted fairly in choosing to receive 70 percent of the prize would have said that it was unfair for someone else to do so.
(D) The subjects who were told about the scenario were, on average, more accurate in their moral judgments than the other subjects were.
(E) At least some subjects who had to choose between deciding the distribution of the prize themselves and having a coin toss decide it felt that they had made the only fair choice they could.
24 Dec 2025, 22:54
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How come option B is not the correct answer
?
?
26 Dec 2025, 02:22
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What's the argument trying to prove?
The conclusion is: "People apply weaker moral standards to themselves than to others."
In plain English: People are hypocrites - lenient with themselves, strict with others.
How did they test this?
Group 1: Made a choice, judged THEMSELVES → "I was fair"
Group 2: Heard about the choice, judged OTHERS → "That's unfair"
The Gap - Why This Study Design is Flawed
These are TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS of people!
Here's a simple example to show why this matters:
--
Imagine this study:
Research question: "Do people judge their own meat-eating differently than others' meat-eating?"
Group 1: Asked "Is YOUR meat-eating ethical?" → "Yes, perfectly fine"
Group 2: Asked "Is SOMEONE ELSE's meat-eating ethical?" → "No, it's wrong"
Conclusion: "People are hypocrites about meat-eating."
Sounds like solid proof of a double standard, right?
But wait - what if I told you:
• Group 1 was meat-eaters
• Group 2 was vegans
That changes everything.
Meat-eaters think meat is fine - for themselves AND for others.
Vegans think meat is wrong - for themselves AND for others.
Nobody's being hypocritical. You just asked two different groups with two different worldviews.
To prove hypocrisy, you'd need the SAME meat-eater saying: "My burger is fine, but YOUR burger is immoral."
THAT would be a double standard.
---
Same problem in our argument.
Group 1 judged themselves. Group 2 judged others.
Different groups, different answers — that's not hypocrisy, that's just... different people.
To prove the conclusion, you need the SAME person saying "fair for me, unfair for you."
Why C is Correct
C says: At least some people who said "I was fair" would also say "others doing this is unfair."
Same person + different judgments = hypocrisy proven. Gap closed.
Why B is Wrong
B says: Coin toss was the most ethical option.
But is that even true? Maybe giving 70% to the OTHER person is most ethical. Maybe something else. We don't know - and it doesn't matter.
The argument isn't asking "What's objectively fair?"
The argument is asking "Do people judge themselves differently than others?"
Totally different questions.
Whether coin toss is most ethical or not, it doesn't tell us whether the SAME people would judge themselves and others differently. B is just irrelevant to the conclusion.
The conclusion is: "People apply weaker moral standards to themselves than to others."
In plain English: People are hypocrites - lenient with themselves, strict with others.
How did they test this?
Group 1: Made a choice, judged THEMSELVES → "I was fair"
Group 2: Heard about the choice, judged OTHERS → "That's unfair"
The Gap - Why This Study Design is Flawed
These are TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS of people!
Here's a simple example to show why this matters:
--
Imagine this study:
Research question: "Do people judge their own meat-eating differently than others' meat-eating?"
Group 1: Asked "Is YOUR meat-eating ethical?" → "Yes, perfectly fine"
Group 2: Asked "Is SOMEONE ELSE's meat-eating ethical?" → "No, it's wrong"
Conclusion: "People are hypocrites about meat-eating."
Sounds like solid proof of a double standard, right?
But wait - what if I told you:
• Group 1 was meat-eaters
• Group 2 was vegans
That changes everything.
Meat-eaters think meat is fine - for themselves AND for others.
Vegans think meat is wrong - for themselves AND for others.
Nobody's being hypocritical. You just asked two different groups with two different worldviews.
To prove hypocrisy, you'd need the SAME meat-eater saying: "My burger is fine, but YOUR burger is immoral."
THAT would be a double standard.
---
Same problem in our argument.
Group 1 judged themselves. Group 2 judged others.
Different groups, different answers — that's not hypocrisy, that's just... different people.
To prove the conclusion, you need the SAME person saying "fair for me, unfair for you."
Why C is Correct
C says: At least some people who said "I was fair" would also say "others doing this is unfair."
Same person + different judgments = hypocrisy proven. Gap closed.
Why B is Wrong
B says: Coin toss was the most ethical option.
But is that even true? Maybe giving 70% to the OTHER person is most ethical. Maybe something else. We don't know - and it doesn't matter.
The argument isn't asking "What's objectively fair?"
The argument is asking "Do people judge themselves differently than others?"
Totally different questions.
Whether coin toss is most ethical or not, it doesn't tell us whether the SAME people would judge themselves and others differently. B is just irrelevant to the conclusion.
Vastavikrahul
