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11 Nov 2025, 00:35
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A
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Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
85% (01:20) correct
15%
(01:42)
wrong
based on 108
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A social worker surveyed 200 women who recently had given birth to their first child. Half of these women had chosen to give birth in a hospital or obstetric clinic; the other half had chosen to give birth at home under the care of certified midwives. Of the 100 births that occurred at home, only five had presented any substantial complications, whereas 17 of the hospital births had required extra attention because of complications during delivery. The social worker concluded from this survey that the home is actually a safer environment in which to give birth than is a hospital or clinic.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls the social worker's conclusion above into question?
(A) All of the women in the study who were diagnosed as having a high possibility of delivery complications elected to give birth in a hospital.
(B) Many obstetricians discourage their patients from giving birth in their own homes.
(C) Women who give birth in their own homes tend to experience less stress during labor and delivery than do those who deliver in hospitals.
(D) Women who give birth in hospitals and clinics often have shorter periods of labor than do those who give birth at home.
(E) Pregnant doctors prefer giving birth in a hospital.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls the social worker's conclusion above into question?
(A) All of the women in the study who were diagnosed as having a high possibility of delivery complications elected to give birth in a hospital.
(B) Many obstetricians discourage their patients from giving birth in their own homes.
(C) Women who give birth in their own homes tend to experience less stress during labor and delivery than do those who deliver in hospitals.
(D) Women who give birth in hospitals and clinics often have shorter periods of labor than do those who give birth at home.
(E) Pregnant doctors prefer giving birth in a hospital.
11 Nov 2025, 03:18
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5 at home deliveries had issues
17 deliveries at hospitals had issues
Conclusion - Home deliveries are safer due to their environment
What would most seriously call the social worker's conclusion above into question
(A) All of the women in the study who were diagnosed as having a high possibility of delivery complications elected to give birth in a hospital.
--> This provides a reason to not believe the social worker as the pregnant women profiles for hospital and home are completely different. If the hospital caters to deliveries with high possibility of complications, then it is most likely that it would have more numbers of deliveries that had complications.
(B) Many obstetricians discourage their patients from giving birth in their own homes.
--> Advice from obstetricians does not make home deliveries unsafe as is indicated by the premise
(C) Women who give birth in their own homes tend to experience less stress during labor and delivery than do those who deliver in hospitals.
--> This strengthens the argument
(D) Women who give birth in hospitals and clinics often have shorter periods of labor than do those who give birth at home.
--> Post delivery timelines for recovery are not the consideration of this argument
(E) Pregnant doctors prefer giving birth in a hospital.
--> This can coexist with the argument and still not weaken it.
IMO Option A
17 deliveries at hospitals had issues
Conclusion - Home deliveries are safer due to their environment
What would most seriously call the social worker's conclusion above into question
(A) All of the women in the study who were diagnosed as having a high possibility of delivery complications elected to give birth in a hospital.
--> This provides a reason to not believe the social worker as the pregnant women profiles for hospital and home are completely different. If the hospital caters to deliveries with high possibility of complications, then it is most likely that it would have more numbers of deliveries that had complications.
(B) Many obstetricians discourage their patients from giving birth in their own homes.
--> Advice from obstetricians does not make home deliveries unsafe as is indicated by the premise
(C) Women who give birth in their own homes tend to experience less stress during labor and delivery than do those who deliver in hospitals.
--> This strengthens the argument
(D) Women who give birth in hospitals and clinics often have shorter periods of labor than do those who give birth at home.
--> Post delivery timelines for recovery are not the consideration of this argument
(E) Pregnant doctors prefer giving birth in a hospital.
--> This can coexist with the argument and still not weaken it.
IMO Option A
11 Nov 2025, 05:48
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This is a "correlation vs. causation" problem. The stated facts describe a statistical CORRELATION or CORRESPONDENCE (home births correlate with lower risk of birth complications; hospital births correlate with higher risk)—but then the passage goes on to conclude that there's a CAUSAL mechanism (the hospital environment CAUSES the additional complications because it's less safe; the home birthing environment CAUSES fewer complications because it's safer).
Correlation/causality is one of *vanishingly* few CR problem types on which the solutions follow a reasonably compact "formula" / "template":
If x thing CORRELATES with y thing, then there are 3 (or 4) possibilities:
• x causes y
• y causes x
• some other thing causes both x and y
(ONLY IF X AND Y ARE SINGLE DATA POINTS) • there's no causal relationship at all, and the co-occurrence is merely a random coincidence
To STRENGTHEN one of these possibilities as a conclusion, rule out / disprove any others that may be plausible. (One or more of these possibilities may be ridiculous/unreasonable/implausible, just by basic common-sense considerations like time order.)
To WEAKEN one of these possibilities as a conclusion, present evidence FOR one of the other ones.
.
In this case, the argument takes the correlation to mean that the birthing environment (x thing) CAUSES the differential risk level (y thing).
This conclusion is weakened if Women with different underlying obstetric risk levels (y thing) CHOOSE a birthing environment that's appropriate to those levels (...causes x thing), as in choice A.
.
WRONG ANSWERS:
B is irrelevant because it doesn't differentiate Mothers by risk level. (If choice B had said that obstetricians warn Women with high-risk pregnancies against giving birth at home, then it would be another way of expressing "y causes x" and therefore would be a correct answer.)
C essentially just repeats the given correlation, since "fewer complications" goes hand-in-hand with "less stress". This choice doesn't provide any additional insight into which method of causation is at work here, so it's irrelevant.
D is irrelevant because length of labor is not analyzed in the study at hand (only the frequency of actual complications is).
The Women's job fields are not included in the study data, so E is irrelevant as well.
Correlation/causality is one of *vanishingly* few CR problem types on which the solutions follow a reasonably compact "formula" / "template":
If x thing CORRELATES with y thing, then there are 3 (or 4) possibilities:
• x causes y
• y causes x
• some other thing causes both x and y
(ONLY IF X AND Y ARE SINGLE DATA POINTS) • there's no causal relationship at all, and the co-occurrence is merely a random coincidence
To STRENGTHEN one of these possibilities as a conclusion, rule out / disprove any others that may be plausible. (One or more of these possibilities may be ridiculous/unreasonable/implausible, just by basic common-sense considerations like time order.)
To WEAKEN one of these possibilities as a conclusion, present evidence FOR one of the other ones.
.
In this case, the argument takes the correlation to mean that the birthing environment (x thing) CAUSES the differential risk level (y thing).
This conclusion is weakened if Women with different underlying obstetric risk levels (y thing) CHOOSE a birthing environment that's appropriate to those levels (...causes x thing), as in choice A.
.
WRONG ANSWERS:
B is irrelevant because it doesn't differentiate Mothers by risk level. (If choice B had said that obstetricians warn Women with high-risk pregnancies against giving birth at home, then it would be another way of expressing "y causes x" and therefore would be a correct answer.)
C essentially just repeats the given correlation, since "fewer complications" goes hand-in-hand with "less stress". This choice doesn't provide any additional insight into which method of causation is at work here, so it's irrelevant.
D is irrelevant because length of labor is not analyzed in the study at hand (only the frequency of actual complications is).
The Women's job fields are not included in the study data, so E is irrelevant as well.
