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nightblade354
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09 Jun 2021, 06:09
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B
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In a study, pairs of trained dogs were placed side by side and given a command such as "sit". After both obeyed the command, one dog was given a treat while its partner was given no reward at all. Over time, the dog who went unrewarded began to disobey the command. This shows that dogs have an aversion to being treated unfairly.
Which one of the following would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?
(A) Were dogs who were accustomed to receiving regular rewards prior to the study more inclined to obey the command?
(B) Is there a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs in the pair?
(C) Were dogs who received treats in one trial ever used as dogs that did not receive treats in other trials?
(D) Were there any cases in which the dog who was given a reward became more inclined to obey the command?
(E) How many repetitions were required before the unrewarded dogs began to disobey the command?
Which one of the following would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?
(A) Were dogs who were accustomed to receiving regular rewards prior to the study more inclined to obey the command?
(B) Is there a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs in the pair?
(C) Were dogs who received treats in one trial ever used as dogs that did not receive treats in other trials?
(D) Were there any cases in which the dog who was given a reward became more inclined to obey the command?
(E) How many repetitions were required before the unrewarded dogs began to disobey the command?
12 Sep 2021, 21:09
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nightblade354
One dog was rewarded and the other was not.
The one who was not rewarded started disobeying the command.
Conclusion: Dogs have an aversion to being treated unfairly.
(A) Were dogs who were accustomed to receiving regular rewards prior to the study more inclined to obey the command?
Irrelevant. We are given that the dogs were trained. How they were trained is irrelevant. We know that both dogs did obey initially. We are not given that either was more or less inclined to obey to begin with.
Then they were treated differently and afterwards their behaviour differed. Initially their behaviour was the same and we make no distinction between the two of them. The distinction comes because of our study. Hence, there is no comparison between what they did before the study and during the study.
(B) Is there a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs in the pair?
Correct. The first thing that comes to mind is whether it is a question of unfairness. Does one stop obeying because the other is getting a treat. What if his reason for not obeying is that he is not getting the reward of obeying? What if both stop obeying if rewards are withheld from both? In that case there would have been no unfairness still the dogs would stop obeying. Hence, to evaluate our conclusion we need to know what they do when treats are withheld from both.
Answer (B)
10 Jun 2021, 00:11
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nightblade354
Argument is pretty simple and straightforward:
Two dogs obeyed a command. Only one of the two rewarded.
The one going unrewarded started disobeying after sometime.
Can we link its disobedience to being treated unfairly
We have to evaluate the argument, and in a way, something touching on the bold part is what we should be looking at.
(A) Were dogs who were accustomed to receiving regular rewards prior to the study more inclined to obey the command?
Whatever be the answer, it would be similar for both the dogs as both are trained dogs.
(B) Is there a decline in obedience if rewards are withheld from both dogs in the pair?
Yes, this touches upon the aspect highlighted in bold portion.
If yes, then clearly, we can link its disobedience to being treated unfairly.
If no, then the link between disobedience and unfair treatment becomes a bit vague. Maybe it has got something to do with some external factors or the general nature related to the disobedient dog
(C) Were dogs who received treats in one trial ever used as dogs that did not receive treats in other trials?
This is again common to both the dogs, and does not help in evaluating the bold and highlighted portion above.
(D) Were there any cases in which the dog who was given a reward became more inclined to obey the command?
A trap.
We are talking of reluctance to obey orders and not incentive playing a role in obedience.
We can only say that reward motivates to work but 'does not being rewarded leads to disobedience?' - This does not get addressed.
(E) How many repetitions were required before the unrewarded dogs began to disobey the command?
It may be whatever repetitions, but does not help in further evaluating the link between disobedience and unfair treatment.
B
