Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators

Question

Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators are the best-made of any of the major brands because they last longer and, on the whole, require fewer repairs than do refrigerators of any other major brand.

Neil: That is impossible. I have owned refrigerators of several different major brands, including Koolair, and the Koolair needed more repairs than did any of the others.

The reasoning in Neil's response is flawed because he

(A) uses a different notion of a product's quality from that used by Eugenia

(B) contradicts Eugenia's claim on the basis of a snap judgment and without making any attempt to offer supporting argumentation

(C) rejects a generalization on the basis of a single negative instance when that generalization has reasonable support and is not universal

(D) uses a pretense of authority in a technical field as the only support for his claim

(E) concludes that what holds true of each member of a group taken individually must also hold true of that group taken collectively

VibhuAnurag · Answer

The answer is C.

Eugenia makes a general claim based on reliable tests: Koolair refrigerators are the best because they last longer and require fewer repairs on average.
Neil responds by citing his personal experience with one Koolair refrigerator and concludes that Eugenia’s claim is impossible.

Option (A):
This suggests Neil is using a different definition of quality. However, both Eugenia and Neil are talking about repairs, so they are using the same metric. The issue is not a difference in definition.
Option (B):
Neil does provide some support by citing his personal experience. The problem is not that he offers no support, but that the support is too limited to refute a broader claim.
 Option (C):
This accurately describes the flaw. Eugenia’s claim is a generalization based on broader evidence, while Neil rejects it using a single negative instance. One example is not enough to invalidate a general trend. 
Option (D):
Neil does not claim any expertise or authority. He only refers to his own experience.
Option (E):
This refers to a group vs individual fallacy, which is not what is happening here. Neil is not making a claim about all individuals based on the group or vice versa.

guddo · Answer

Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators are the best-made of any of the major brands because they last longer and, on the whole, require fewer repairs than do refrigerators of any other major brand.
 
 Neil: That is impossible. I have owned refrigerators of several different major brands, including Koolair, and the Koolair needed more repairs than did any of the others. 
 
The reasoning in Neil's response is flawed because he

Eugenia makes a general claim based on reliable tests: Koolair refrigerators are the best because they last longer and require fewer repairs on average.
Neil responds by citing his personal experience with one Koolair refrigerator and concludes that Eugenia’s claim is impossible.

(A) uses a different notion of a product's quality from that used by Eugenia

Wrong. Both are discussing quality in terms of durability and repairs, so this is not the main problem.

(B) contradicts Eugenia's claim on the basis of a snap judgment and without making any attempt to offer supporting argumentation

Wrong. Neil does give a reason, but the reason is too weak.

(C) rejects a generalization on the basis of a single negative instance when that generalization has reasonable support and is not universal

Correct. Eugenia’s claim is not that every Koolair refrigerator needs fewer repairs than every other refrigerator. It is an overall claim about the brand. Neil’s one bad experience does not refute that.

(D) uses a pretense of authority in a technical field as the only support for his claim

Wrong. Neil does not pretend to be a technical expert. He relies on personal experience.

(E) concludes that what holds true of each member of a group taken individually must also hold true of that group taken collectively

Wrong. This describes a composition error, but Neil is not reasoning from each member to the whole group.

Answer: (C)

yc168 · Answer

OE for reference:

Overview:  
Eugenia reports on a comparative study of refrigerators, according to which the Koolair brand is the best-made of all major brands. This result is based on two findings. First, Koolair refrigerators last longer and, second, they require fewer repairs, on the whole, than any other major brand. Neil denies that this could be so. He justifies his denial by citing his own experience with refrigerators of several different brands. He found that, of all of his refrigerators, the Koolair was the one needing the most repairs.

The Correct Answer:

C  Eugenia claims that reliable tests have shown that, on the whole, Koolair refrigerators require the fewest repairs of any major brand. That is, Eugenia has stated a generalization and has offered reasonable support for it (the reliable tests). Moreover, the generalization is not universal; Eugenia claims only that,  on the whole , Koolair refrigerators require fewer repairs. Neil counters by saying that, of the several major brand refrigerators he has owned, the Koolair needed the most repairs. That is, Neil has cited a single incidence of unreliability as grounds for rejecting the generalization made by Eugenia. So (C) correctly describes a flaw in Neil's reasoning.

The Incorrect Answer Choices:

A  Neil does not use a different notion of a product's quality than Eugenia. She uses low frequency of repair as an indicator of good quality, and he uses high frequency of repair as an indicator of poor quality. In other words, they both rely on a notion like  a good refrigerator rarely needs repair . Since (A) does not accurately describe what Neil does, it cannot be a description of how his reasoning goes wrong.

B  Neil does contradict Eugenia's claim, but not on the basis of a snap judgment. Rather, he makes an effort to offer supporting evidence for his position, by citing his own experiences with various brands of refrigerators. Thus (B) misdescribes a central aspect of Neil's disagreement with Eugenia. So (B) cannot correctly describe how Neil's reasoning goes wrong.

D  Neil does not claim any special expertise in a technical field. He supports his position using everyday experiences. So (D) does not describe a flaw in Neil's reasoning.

E  What (E) describes is not necessarily a flaw: if each Koolair refrigerator were poorly made, then it would be proper to conclude that Koolair refrigerators are poorly made. Moreover, (E) is not even a good description of what Neil does. Neil draws his conclusion on the basis of what holds true for just one member of a group, not what holds true for each member of that group.

Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards