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805+ Level|   Evaluate Argument|         
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shaliny
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GMAT Club Olympics 2025 (Day 5): Researchers studying workplace produc 05 Jul 2025, 08:28
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would you please elaborate about "randomly assigned ' actually means here?
Cana1766
The answer is B.
A-> it talks about positions long term,we are not interested in that.
C-> the members were randomly assigned,so no
D-> it talks about pay,not interested
E-> related to some background info,so no

B will be useful because if the members spent less time on their distractions, it would provide an alternative explanation for the increase in performance.

So B is the answer.
Bunuel
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.

Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in evaluating the researchers’ hypothesis?

(A) Whether clerical workers who perceive their jobs as important are more likely to remain in their positions long term
(B) Whether those in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions after receiving the message
(C) Whether both groups were equally likely to have prior experience in clerical tasks
(D) Whether the workers in the first group reported greater satisfaction with their pay after receiving the message
(E) Whether routine clerical tasks are commonly perceived as cognitively undemanding


 


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GMAT Club Olympics 2025 (Day 5): Researchers studying workplace produc 05 Jul 2025, 08:33
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If you read the first line of the argument, it says " Researchers studying workplace productivity randomly assigned clerical workers to two equal groups.". This means there was no bias in the initial group allocation. Hence, the concern raised in option C would no longer be valid then.
shaliny
would you please elaborate about "randomly assigned ' actually means here?
Cana1766
The answer is B.
A-> it talks about positions long term,we are not interested in that.
C-> the members were randomly assigned,so no
D-> it talks about pay,not interested
E-> related to some background info,so no

B will be useful because if the members spent less time on their distractions, it would provide an alternative explanation for the increase in performance.

So B is the answer.
Bunuel
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.

Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in evaluating the researchers’ hypothesis?

(A) Whether clerical workers who perceive their jobs as important are more likely to remain in their positions long term
(B) Whether those in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions after receiving the message
(C) Whether both groups were equally likely to have prior experience in clerical tasks
(D) Whether the workers in the first group reported greater satisfaction with their pay after receiving the message
(E) Whether routine clerical tasks are commonly perceived as cognitively undemanding


 


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GMAT Club Olympics 2025 (Day 5): Researchers studying workplace produc 05 Jul 2025, 10:32
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✅ (B) Whether those in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions after receiving the message
→ DIRECTLY relevant! If they spent less time distracted (i.e. more focus due to believing the work is important), that supports the mechanism hypothesized.
[hr]
(A) Whether clerical workers who perceive their jobs as important are more likely to remain in their positions long term
→ About retention, not about causing the short-term performance boost here.
(C) Whether both groups were equally likely to have prior experience in clerical tasks
→ Random assignment should already balance this, and it doesn’t test the mechanism of the message’s effect.
(D) Whether the workers in the first group reported greater satisfaction with their pay after receiving the message
→ Pay satisfaction is unrelated to the hypothesized mechanism (viewing the work as important and engaging).
(E) Whether routine clerical tasks are commonly perceived as cognitively undemanding
→ Background fact, but it doesn’t test whether the message caused the improvement via changed perception.
[hr]
✅ Answer:(B)

Bunuel
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.

Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in evaluating the researchers’ hypothesis?

(A) Whether clerical workers who perceive their jobs as important are more likely to remain in their positions long term
(B) Whether those in the first group changed their time spent on personal distractions after receiving the message
(C) Whether both groups were equally likely to have prior experience in clerical tasks
(D) Whether the workers in the first group reported greater satisfaction with their pay after receiving the message
(E) Whether routine clerical tasks are commonly perceived as cognitively undemanding


 


This question was provided by GMAT Club
for the GMAT Club Olympics Competition

Win over $30,000 in prizes such as Courses, Tests, Private Tutoring, and more

 

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