In 1973, a remote town first acquired television. Shortly before broad

Error Analysis. Here's what I found.

A) A is wrong because it talks about what influenced Television Content. We're not looking for that. OUT

B)B is wrong because it says nothing about different reactions among the communities studied on the basis of TV viewing. In fact, as you'll realize later, you'll know that we cannot compare the two studies because the demographics in terms of TV viewing is different between the groups in the first study and the second, for all their "similarity". The second group has had TV for decades. The first group has only had the TV for a couple of years. You can't rule out the possibility that the second study groups could have also had a similar increase in aggressiveness in the initial stages of their TV viewing experience. OUT

C) C is wrong because it compares long term effects and short term effects. Effects? Yes, aggression is an effect. But the plural effects suggests that there were more than just one effect, and we certainly do not know about the other effects. This is a sort of Trap answer choice you'd be tempted to select out of urgency on Test Day. OUT

D)D, At first glance seems wrong. On Test Day, You're probably Eliminating the wrong choices and more often than not an answer choice like this is the first you'd look at and say "This one's a goner!". But hold on, Bunuel has explained why this is indeed the right choice on this thread. I'd like to add more to Bunuel 's reasoning. The mere fact that we're comparing two(actually three) similar, yet different set of communities (different in terms of TV viewing experience) (10 or 20 years of TV >> 2 years of TV) on the basis of research results requires one to read between the lines. It's a possibility that these communities, out of their similarity in all the things you could think of (eg- lifestyle, habits, etc.) with the community in the first study, might have had a similar increase in aggression when TV was first introduced to them. KEEP

E) The problem with E is that it seems so good and goes so well with the pattern of the passage. A great little trap. The conclusion from the first study gives us an observation about TV in its initial years after being introduced to a community. The second study is 10 or maybe 20 years too late. The aggression probably has already been developed for the researchers to notice. E is a tough trap to avoid because to understand it, you'll have to understand what isn't obvious from the passage. OUT

Hi Bunuel ,
The question I am about to ask is probably the stupidest question that you would have been asked so far on this forum.

I did understand the official explanation. But what learning should I take forward from this question that could help me in future to avoid marking an incorrect answer choice? Could I encounter a question in future that will have the same line of reasoning?

By critical thinking and by POE, each wrong answer can be eliminated.

A, we do not know anything of the type of programmes viewers choosed nor we have any information about the human nature. WRONG ANSWER

B, the second study shows that people did not have any change in the rate of aggression after 10 or 20 years of viewing TV, but the possibility that this group also experienced an increase in the aggression rates in their first two years cannot be eliminated. Hence, we cannot say that differents social groups reach quite differently to similar stimuli. Further we are talking only about aggression, a stimulus; nothing can be told about other stimuli. WRONG ANSWER

C, long-term exposure may have had effects other than aggression (eg. vision impairment) which may not be a short-term effect. We do not have any information about the effects other than aggression. WRONG ANSWER

D, though the second study doesn't confirm that TV viewers in their initial two years had increased rate of aggression, there is no evidence opposing the view that there is no increase in the rate of aggression in the initial two years. Hence, this choice cannot be eliminated. WAIT FOR OPTION E.

E, as explained in option D, there is no evidence to disprove the conclusion in the first study. WRONG ANSWER.

Therefore, by POE option D is the CORRECT ANSWER.

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