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04 Jul 2025, 09:54
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Researchers studying workplace productivity randomly assigned clerical workers to two equal groups. One group was told that their tasks, though routine, were cognitively demanding and vital to the company's operations. The other group received no such message. Over the following month, the first group showed a significant increase in typing speed and error reduction, despite working the same number of hours under identical conditions. The researchers hypothesized that the performance gains were caused by the workers' increased perception of their work as mentally engaging and important.
(A) Whether clerical workers who perceive their jobs as important are more likely to remain in their positions long term Irrelevant
(B) Whether those in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions after receiving the message This would be good to know, as it might distinguish the 2 groups and explain performance gains for the first group
(C) Whether both groups were equally likely to have prior experience in clerical tasks Irrelevant, this suggests the groups were similar but not the performance gains
(D) Whether the workers in the first group reported greater satisfaction with their pay after receiving the message Irrelevant
(E) Whether routine clerical tasks are commonly perceived as cognitively undemanding Wouldn't be helpful, the conclusion mentions "workers' increased perception of their work as mentally engaging and important."
(A) Whether clerical workers who perceive their jobs as important are more likely to remain in their positions long term Irrelevant
(B) Whether those in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions after receiving the message This would be good to know, as it might distinguish the 2 groups and explain performance gains for the first group
(C) Whether both groups were equally likely to have prior experience in clerical tasks Irrelevant, this suggests the groups were similar but not the performance gains
(D) Whether the workers in the first group reported greater satisfaction with their pay after receiving the message Irrelevant
(E) Whether routine clerical tasks are commonly perceived as cognitively undemanding Wouldn't be helpful, the conclusion mentions "workers' increased perception of their work as mentally engaging and important."
Bunuel
04 Jul 2025, 09:56
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The message may have cause a change in the way groups perceived their work. It could be something where they started focusing more on work than their personal distractions.
Option B meet that criteria.
Option B meet that criteria.
MaxFabianKirchner
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Schools: ESSEC MiF '26 ESADE HEC Imperial LBS Oxford MFE '26 Sloan (MIT) NYU Stern NUS Bocconi IE'26
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04 Jul 2025, 10:14
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The researchers' hypothesis is that an increased perception of work as important and engaging caused an improvement in performance. The question asks what would be most useful to determine in evaluating this causal claim. This requires finding a question whose answer would either significantly strengthen or weaken the researchers' hypothesis. The best way to evaluate a causal hypothesis is often to investigate potential alternative causes for the observed effect.
The observed effect is an increase in typing speed and a reduction in errors. The hypothesized cause is a change in perception. An alternative cause could be a direct change in behavior. The message telling workers their job was "cognitively demanding and vital" might have prompted them to simply focus more, try harder, or spend less time on non-work activities during work hours.
Option (B) directly tests this alternative explanation by asking whether the workers in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions. If the answer is yes, it suggests that the performance gain may have been due to a simple increase in time-on-task, which would weaken the researchers' claim that a change in perception was the cause. If the answer is no, it eliminates this major alternative explanation, thereby strengthening the researchers' hypothesis.
The other options are less useful. (A) is out of scope, as the study is about short-term productivity, not long-term retention. (C) questions the experimental setup (random assignment), which is generally assumed to be valid. (D) introduces an irrelevant factor (pay satisfaction). (E) addresses the baseline perception of the work, which is already implied, but does not help evaluate the cause of the *change* in performance.
Therefore, determining whether the workers changed their time spent on distractions is the most useful piece of information for evaluating the hypothesis. The correct answer is (B).
The observed effect is an increase in typing speed and a reduction in errors. The hypothesized cause is a change in perception. An alternative cause could be a direct change in behavior. The message telling workers their job was "cognitively demanding and vital" might have prompted them to simply focus more, try harder, or spend less time on non-work activities during work hours.
Option (B) directly tests this alternative explanation by asking whether the workers in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions. If the answer is yes, it suggests that the performance gain may have been due to a simple increase in time-on-task, which would weaken the researchers' claim that a change in perception was the cause. If the answer is no, it eliminates this major alternative explanation, thereby strengthening the researchers' hypothesis.
The other options are less useful. (A) is out of scope, as the study is about short-term productivity, not long-term retention. (C) questions the experimental setup (random assignment), which is generally assumed to be valid. (D) introduces an irrelevant factor (pay satisfaction). (E) addresses the baseline perception of the work, which is already implied, but does not help evaluate the cause of the *change* in performance.
Therefore, determining whether the workers changed their time spent on distractions is the most useful piece of information for evaluating the hypothesis. The correct answer is (B).
