Kennel club members who frequently discipline their dogs report a high

Question

Kennel club members who frequently discipline their dogs report a higher incidence of misbehavior than do members who rarely or never discipline their dogs. We can conclude from this that discipline does not improve dogs’ behavior; on the contrary, it encourages misbehavior.

The argument is flawed in that it fails to consider the possibility that

(A) dogs’ misbehavior is the cause of, rather than the result of, frequent discipline
(B) dogs learn from past experience how their owners are likely to react to misbehavior
(C) discipline does not cause misbehavior on the part of animals other than dogs
(D) kennel club members tend to be more skilled at raising dogs than are other dog owners
(E) kennel club members are more likely to use discipline than are other dog owners

Pranithare · Answer

I was struck with option E and i don't understand how can A be the answer.could you please explain me how to arrive at A

KarishmaB · Answer

The distinction is between Kennel club members who discipline their dogs vs Kennel club members who do not discipline their dogs. 
Those who discipline report higher incidence of misbehaviour.

Conclusion: Discipline encourages misbehaviour.

We need to expose the flaw in this argument.

(A)  dogs’ misbehavior is the cause of, rather than the result of, frequent discipline

Those who discipline are also the ones reporting higher misbehaviour. Is it possible that higher incidence of misbehaviour is what causes the owners to discipline the dog? Yes. Perhaps, the mild mannered dogs don't require disciplining and since they are mild mannered, they don't misbehave. We are not considering this aspect in our conclusion and it is certainly a flaw.

(B)  dogs learn from past experience how their owners are likely to react to misbehavior

This is not a flaw in the argument. If dogs actually did learn from past experience, they would not be misbehaving after getting disciplined.

(C)  discipline does not cause misbehavior on the part of animals other than dogs

Animals other than dogs are irrelevant to the argument.

(D)  kennel club members tend to be more skilled at raising dogs than are other dog owners

Dog owners other than kennel club members are irrelevant to the argument.

(E)  kennel club members are more likely to use discipline than are other dog owners

Again, dog owners other than kennel club members are irrelevant to the argument. The distinction is between members who discipline their dogs vs members who do not discipline their dogs. It is not between kennel club members vs other dog owners.

Answer (A)

RohitSaluja · Answer

Given this is a question type belonging to first family (Power Scope CR terminology), we can't bring outside information, as the argument only compare two groups of the same club, the one who disciplines more frequently than the others, we can only compare these two groups and no other

GordonZeng · Answer

This is a Causal Argument (A causes B). On the GMAT, there is an easy and very straightforward pattern for finding the right answer to this type of argument.

There are three ways to show something wrong with a causal argument (this also applies to Weakening; to Strengthen, just do the opposite)

1. Coincidence (show an instance of A or B happening without the other) 
2. Reverse Causality (show that B caused A instead) 
3. Alternate Cause (show any 3rd variable C causing B instead)

Any time you deduce that you're looking at a causal argument, look for one of the above patterns in the answer choices. Only one answer choice will identify one of the three - that will be the right answer.

Here, the causal argument is:

Discipline   causes   misbehavior

The correct answer will do one of the following:

1. Show an instance of   or   happening without the other (it's just a coincidence that these happen at the same time)
2. Show   causes   (the causality is actually reversed) 
3. Show any third variable as a potential cause (there is an alternate cause)

Notably, only one answer choice will actually do any of the three. Here, we see that choices B, C, D, and E don't reference any of the three patterns (they are thus automatically wrong).

Choice A identifies a Reverse Causality (it's the misbehavior causing the disciplining) and thus that must be the right answer.

Kennel club members who frequently discipline their dogs report a high

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Kennel club members who frequently discipline their dogs report a high

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards