Bunuel wrote:
A recent survey showed that 60 percent of employers polled believe that an employee should be fired from the job if the employee has been charged with a crime, whereas 40 percent believe that an employee should be fired only if the employee has been convicted of a crime. Therefore, more employers believe that an employee should be fired if charged of a crime than believe they should be fired if convicted.
The reasoning above is flawed because it
(A) uses a sample of the population to draw a conclusion about the general population
(B) bases a conclusion on an ambiguous term in the supporting statements
(C) uses two different beliefs to draws a conclusion about a different belief altogether
(D) is based on premises that cannot all be true
(E) confuses a sufficient condition with a required condition
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Answer: E
STEP 1: Read the question and identify your task.This is a Flaw question. The question is looking for a description of the logical flaw, rather than the flaw itself.
STEP 2: Read the argument with your task in mind.The argument concludes that there are more employers who believe one idea (people charged with a crime should be fired) over another (only people convicted of a crime should be fired), using the result of a recent survey.
STEP 3: Know what you’re looking for.The correct answer will describe why the statistics are misleading, specifically why one or both of the survey statistics may be double counting or undercounting the number who believe a person should be fired in either case.
STEP 4: Read every word of every answer choice.Answer A is a true description of what the statement does but does not necessarily describe a flaw. Most polls extrapolate from a sample to draw a conclusion about the general population. For answer B, there is no ambiguous term used in the supporting statements, nor is any such term used as a basis for the conclusion, so this one cannot be correct. Regarding answer C, the conclusion compares the two beliefs mentioned in the supporting statements and makes no mention of a third belief. For answer D, there is no doubt that all the premises can be true. Finally, regarding answer E, in order to be convicted, one must be charged, so it is very likely that more employers believe that an employee should be fired if convicted of a crime than those who believe the employee should be fired if just charged with a crime. A sufficient condition is being confused with a required condition. Thus the poll and the reasoning are flawed. The correct choice is answer E.