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GMAT Club Olympics 2024 (Day 1): Psychologist: In a study, children

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rsrobin864

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09 Jul 2024, 05:45

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Bunuel

Psychologist: In a study, children were observed in a room filled with various toys. When an adult was present in the room, the children were more likely to share toys with their siblings than with non-siblings. This suggests that children are more inclined to share with family members when they feel they are being observed by an authority figure.

The psychologist's argument would be most strengthened if it were true that, during the study, the children exhibited increased sharing behavior when:

A. the toys in the room were new to the children, rather than toys they had previously played with at home.

B. the observing adult was a parent of the siblings, rather than a stranger or non-relative adult.

C. the siblings were younger and appeared to need help understanding how to use the toys, compared to non-siblings who were adept at using the toys.

D. the room had more toys available than usual, making it easier for children to find and share multiple toys.

E. the adult explicitly encouraged the children to share, regardless of whether the other child was a sibling or a non-sibling.

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Need to strengthen

Need to show that the adult helped encourage the sharing of the toy

A.out of scope
B.whether he is the parent of sibling or not doesnt matter
C.Out of scope
D.Not concerned
E.Answer as shows how the adult helped in sharing

E is the answer

miami60

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09 Jul 2024, 05:54

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My answer is D, a child will fill safe and want to share toys to others if there's some toys available for playing

Posted from my mobile device

Leo_1511

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09 Jul 2024, 06:14

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You can eliminate rest of the option by POE.
The answer to this question should be B as it suggests that the behaviour of the childer might be influenced by a familiar figure (authority--parent in this case). Thus the psychologist's argument would be most strengthened if the children exhibited increased sharing behavior in this case.

Answer - B

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A. the toys in the room were new to the children, rather than toys they had previously played with at home:- Old or new toys won't have any effect on sharing, hence this is not the correct answer

B. the observing adult was a parent of the siblings, rather than a stranger or non-relative adult:- The adult will be the parent of a certain number of children, and will be stranger or non-relative adult for all other children. Hence this statement does not strengthen the argument, hence not the correct answer.

C. the siblings were younger and appeared to need help understanding how to use the toys, compared to non-siblings who were adept at using the toys:- in this case the children then should be sharing the toys with non-siblings, as they are adept at using the toys, so this statement actually weakens the argument, Hence not the correct answer.

D. the room had more toys available than usual, making it easier for children to find and share multiple toys:- the number of toys does not have any effect on whether children share toys with siblings or non-siblings. Hence not the correct answer.

E. the adult explicitly encouraged the children to share, regardless of whether the other child was a sibling or a non-sibling:- Here, even after the adult encouraged the children to share irrespective of sibling or non-sibling, children were more likely to share with siblings. Hence this statement strengthens the argument. Hence the correct answer.

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09 Jul 2024, 06:46

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Bunuel

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B since it links all the necessary components mentioned in text together to make the conclusion more sound.
Parents => are family members + also parents of their siblings + authority figure => children are more inclined to share with family members when parents are present in the room

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09 Jul 2024, 06:52

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The question says that the children were more inclined to share with siblings than non-siblings. The fact that needs to be verified is that the kids want to share the toys with siblings more than non-siblings or they have already played with similar toys at home with their siblings and hence it's the familiarity that is driving them to play with the siblings.
Option A talks about this angle. hence the correct answer.

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09 Jul 2024, 09:20

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The best answer to strengthen the psychologist's argument is: B. the observing adult was a parent of the siblings, rather than a stranger or non-relative adult.

Why: Parents hold a special position of authority in a child's life compared to strangers or non-relatives. (A stranger may not know the child's relationship with other children but a parent surely does)

Other options:

A. New vs. familiar toys: New toys might spark more competition initially, but it wouldn't necessarily influence who they share with.

C. Age/Skill difference: While needing help might make sharing easier, it doesn't address the core argument of sharing with family under observation.

D. More toys: Abundance of toys might make sharing easier, but it doesn't directly connect to the role of the observing adult.

E. Explicit encouragement: This would strengthen the overall point of sharing, but it doesn't address the psychologist's specific claim about family and authority figures.

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09 Jul 2024, 17:13

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Gemmie

Gemmie, Thank you! Plese note you will have to make a post before the OA release deadline which is 7 AM PST, and was about 2 hours BEFORE your post. You got it right nowever 👍

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09 Jul 2024, 23:49

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Answer Choice B very strongly suggest being observed by parent (Authority Figure)

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10 Jul 2024, 00:04

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Bunuel

This question was provided by GMAT Club
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GMAT Club Official Explanation:

Correct Answer: B. The observing adult was a parent of the siblings, rather than a stranger or non-relative adult.

This answer strengthens the psychologist's argument that children are more inclined to share with family members when observed by an authority figure by specifying that the authority figure is closely related to the children. This suggests that the presence of a familiar authority figure (like a parent), as opposed to a stranger, might have a significant impact on the children's choice to share specifically with siblings, reinforcing the observation's connection to familial authority.

A. The toys in the room were new to the children, rather than toys they had previously played with at home. This choice does not directly affect the children's decision to share with siblings versus non-siblings when observed by an adult. It focuses on the novelty of toys, which is unrelated to the influence of an adult observer on familial sharing behavior.

C. The siblings were younger and appeared to need help understanding how to use the toys, compared to non-siblings who were adept at using the toys This choice introduces another variable (the age and competence of the children) that could influence sharing behavior, but it does not directly support the idea that observation by an adult specifically encourages sharing with siblings.

D. The room had more toys available than usual, making it easier for children to find and share multiple toys. This option focuses on the availability of toys rather than the influence of an adult's presence on sharing behavior. While more toys might make sharing easier, it doesn’t specifically strengthen the argument about sharing more with siblings under adult observation.

E. The adult explicitly encouraged the children to share, regardless of whether the other child was a sibling or a non-sibling. This choice weakens the argument rather than strengthening it. If the adult encouraged sharing with all children equally, it suggests that the observed difference in sharing between siblings and non-siblings might not be influenced by the adult’s familial relationship but simply by general encouragement to share.

@bb Though option B strengthens the fact that presence of a familiar authority figure (like a parent), as opposed to a stranger makes children more inclined to share with family members, but the problem is that this is not the conlusion we want to strengthen in the question. We want to strengthen that 'children are more inclined to share with family members when they feel they are being observed by an authority figure' not familiar authority figure. In my opinion option B is also not a good option. Moreover there is "or" between stranger and non-relative. So by choosing the option B we further assume that a non-relative adult can't be an authority figure. What if that person is a teacher?

Dharmk9

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Study---> Children are field with toys and share toys to siblings with the present of the adult of the family.
Conclusion---> children are more inclined to share with family members when they feel they are being observed by an authority figure.
Strenghtening statement should clarify that observing adults are the parents of the children.
this contain only in Option B Correct answer

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11 Jul 2024, 07:17

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thelastskybender

Quote:

Hi. Thank you very much for the question and poking deeper into it. This helps us make questions better and get better feedback!

In terms of your suggestion that B makes an assumption that a stranger cannot be an authority figure - it is a bit of the opposite. We do not assume they cannot be, but we rather must guarantee. You are absolutely correct that someoen may be a teacher or a police officer and thus would be a figure of authority in a child's mind. However, the correct answer choice must always work. If it does not work sometimes (e.g. 1 out of 99 times it is not a police officer or a teacher), then it is not the correct answer. The reason the parent was used was because they would be an automatic authority to a child. The other option would be to write a teacher just like you said, but it would have to be specific so that it is always the case.

Let me know if I missed your point (it happens)
Thank you,
BB

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A. The toys in the room were new to the children, rather than toys they had previously played with at home.

Weaken: If the toys were new, the children might be more excited and curious, influencing their sharing behavior regardless of the presence of an authority figure. This introduces a variable unrelated to authority presence, making it harder to attribute increased sharing solely to the presence of the authority figure.

B. The observing adult was a parent of the siblings, rather than a stranger or non-relative adult.

Mixed:

Strengthen: It could show that children respond to the presence of a familiar authority figure by sharing more with siblings, supporting the idea that authority presence encourages sharing with family.
Weaken: It might introduce bias as children could be behaving to gain parental approval specifically, rather than responding to the general concept of an authority figure. This makes it difficult to generalize the findings to other authority figures.

C. The siblings were younger and appeared to need help understanding how to use the toys, compared to non-siblings who were adept at using the toys.

Weaken: If the siblings are younger and need help, increased sharing could be due to older children feeling responsible or empathetic rather than the presence of an authority figure. This introduces another variable (age and need for assistance) that could explain the increased sharing.

D. The room had more toys available than usual, making it easier for children to find and share multiple toys.

Weaken: An abundance of toys might naturally lead to more sharing because the children don't feel a scarcity of resources. This could reduce the perceived impact of the authority figure on the sharing behavior, as children might share simply because there are enough toys for everyone.

E. The adult explicitly encouraged the children to share, regardless of whether the other child was a sibling or a non-sibling.

Weaken: If the adult explicitly encourages sharing, the increased sharing behavior could be attributed to the direct instruction rather than the presence of the authority figure. This introduces a direct intervention that confounds the results, making it unclear if the authority's presence alone would have had the same effect.

Summary

Strengthen: B (with the caveat of introducing bias due to parental influence)
Weaken: A, C, D, E

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the answer is B
as the observer was a family, and the child continue to give toy to their sibling. it can be assumed tha there is an influence from the family on the child. this confirms the conclusion of the psychologist.

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Can someone please explain why it is B and not E?

Does authority figure mean familiar people??

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Quote:

This suggests that children are more inclined to share with family members when they feel they are being observed by an authority figure.

As far as I understand, the conclusion is children are more inclined to share with siblings (as compared to non-siblings) when there's an authority figure present (an adult).

Between B and E --> B specifies that the authority figure was a parent, but no emphasis as to why the inclination to share is more. As compared with E, the adult has encouraged to share, regardless whether it's a sibling or not, and the inclination to share was higher for siblings.

I feel the answer to be E.

Bunuel

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