samgyupsal
Hello experts!
Within answer choice E, aside from the "people" portion, what is wrong with it? Is it just stylistically not preferred? As mentioned above, this does seem pretty formal and it is definitely used in the real world a number of times. But is it technically wrong here? When can you use this where it's correct? I can't imagine the GMAT having an answer choice with this type of word choice, but this doesn't seem super clear to me.. please help!
I think the "people portion" is pretty significant. The singular term "psychopath" should refer to a single person (i.e. "someone"). That alone is a pretty big vote in favor of (D) over (E).
But remember, on the GMAT, your job is to select the BEST answer choice out of the five
available options. Looking at a single sentence/construction in a bubble and determining whether it's "correct" or "incorrect" based on black and white grammar "rules" is an entirely different job -- one that you'll never have to do on the GMAT.
So I wouldn't worry too much about when you should/shouldn't use "in reference to." As long as you are convinced that (D) is a
better choice here, then you've done your job on this question.
I hope that helps a bit!