Leading questionsquestions worded in such a way as to suggest a parti

Question

Leading questions—questions worded in such a
way as to suggest a particular answer—can yield
unreliable testimony either by design, as when a lawyer
tries to trick a witness into affirming a particular
  (5)   version of the evidence of a case, or by accident, when
a questioner unintentionally prejudices the witness’s
response. For this reason, a judge can disallow such
questions in the courtroom interrogation of witnesses.
But their exclusion from the courtroom by no means
  (10)   eliminates the remote effects of earlier leading
questions on eyewitness testimony. Alarmingly, the
beliefs about an event that a witness brings to the
courtroom may often be adulterated by the effects of
leading questions that were introduced intentionally or
  (15)   unintentionally by lawyers, police investigators,
reporters, or others with whom the witness has already
interacted.

Recent studies have confirmed the ability of
leading questions to alter the details of our memories
  (20)   and have led to a better understanding of how this
process occurs and, perhaps, of the conditions that
make for greater risks that an eyewitness’s memories
have been tainted by leading questions. These studies
suggest that not all details of our experiences become
  (25)   clearly or stably stored in memory—only those to
which we give adequate attention. Moreover,
experimental evidence indicates that if subtly
introduced new data involving remembered events do
not actively conflict with our stored memory data, we
  (30)   tend to process such new data similarly whether they
correspond to details as we remember them, or to gaps
in those details. In the former case, we often retain the
new data as a reinforcement of the corresponding
aspect of the memory, and in the latter case, we often
  (35)   retain them as a construction to fill the corresponding
gap. An eyewitness who is asked, prior to courtroom
testimony, “How fast was the car going when it passed
the stop sign?” may respond to the query about speed
without addressing the question of the stop sign. But
  (40)   the “stop sign” datum has now been introduced, and
when later recalled, perhaps during courtroom
testimony, it may be processed as belonging to the
original memory even if the witness actually saw no
stop sign.

(45)   The farther removed from the event, the greater the
chance of a vague or incomplete recollection and the
greater the likelihood of newly suggested information
blending with original memories. Since we can be
more easily misled with respect to fainter and more
  (50)   uncertain memories, tangential details are more apt to
become constructed out of subsequently introduced
information than are more central details. But what is
tangential to a witness’s original experience of an event
may nevertheless be crucial to the courtroom issues
  (55)   that the witness’s memories are supposed to resolve.
For example, a perpetrator’s shirt color or hairstyle
might be tangential to one’s shocked observance of an
armed robbery, but later those factors might be crucial
to establishing the identity of the perpetrator.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) The unreliability of memories about incidental aspects of observed events makes eyewitness testimony especially questionable in cases in which the witness was not directly involved.
(B) Because of the nature of human memory storage and retrieval, the courtroom testimony of eyewitnesses may contain crucial inaccuracies due to leading questions asked prior to the courtroom appearance.
(C) Researchers are surprised to find that courtroom testimony is often dependent on suggestion to fill gaps left by insufficient attention to detail at the time that the incident in question occurred.
(D) Although judges can disallow leading questions from the courtroom, it is virtually impossible to prevent them from being used elsewhere, to the detriment of many cases.
(E) Stricter regulation should be placed on lawyers whose leading questions can corrupt witnesses’ testimony by introducing inaccurate data prior to the witnesses’ appearance in the courtroom.

2 
 2. It can be reasonably inferred from the passage that which one of the following, if it were effectively implemented, would most increase the justice system’s ability to prevent leading questions from causing mistaken court decisions?

(A) a policy ensuring that witnesses have extra time to answer questions concerning details that are tangential to their original experiences of events
(B) thorough revision of the criteria for determining which kinds of interrogation may be disallowed in courtroom testimony under the category of “leading questions”
(C) increased attention to the nuances of all witnesses’ responses to courtroom questions, even those that are not leading questions
(D) extensive interviewing of witnesses by all lawyers for both sides of a case prior to those witnesses’ courtroom appearance
(E) availability of accurate transcripts of all interrogations of witnesses that occurred prior to those witnesses’ appearance in court

3 
 3. Which one of the following is mentioned in the passage as a way in which new data suggested to a witness by a leading question are sometimes processed?

(A) They are integrated with current memories as support for those memories.
(B) They are stored tentatively as conjectural data that fade with time.
(C) They stay more vivid in memory than do previously stored memory data.
(D) They are reinterpreted so as to be compatible with the details already stored in memory.
(E) They are retained in memory even when they conflict with previously stored memory data.

4 
 23. In discussing the tangential details of events, the passage contrasts their original significance to witnesses with their possible significance in the courtroom (lines 52–59). That contrast is most closely analogous to which one of the following?

(A) For purposes of flavor and preservation, salt and vinegar are important additions to cucumbers during the process of pickling, but these purposes could be attained by adding other ingredients instead.
(B) For the purpose of adding a mild stimulant effect, caffeine is included in some types of carbonated drinks, but for the purposes of appealing to health-conscious consumers, some types of carbonated drinks are advertised as being caffeine-free.
(C) For purposes of flavor and tenderness, the skins of apples and some other fruits are removed during preparation for drying, but grape skins are an essential part of raisins, and thus grape skins are not removed.
(D) For purposes of flavor and appearance, wheat germ is not needed in flour and is usually removed during milling, but for purposes of nutrition, the germ is an important part of the grain.
(E) For purposes of texture and appearance, some fat may be removed from meat when it is ground into sausage, but the removal of fat is also important for purposes of health.

5 
 5. Which one of the following questions is most directly answered by information in the passage?

(A) In witnessing what types of crimes are people especially likely to pay close attention to circumstantial details?
(B) Which aspects of courtroom interrogation cause witnesses to be especially reluctant to testify in extensive detail?
(C) Can the stress of having to testify in a courtroom situation affect the accuracy of memory storage and retrieval?
(D) Do different people tend to possess different capacities for remembering details accurately?
(E) When is it more likely that a detail of an observed event will be accurately remembered?

6 
 6. The second paragraph consists primarily of material that

(A) corroborates and adds detail to a claim made in the first paragraph
(B) provides examples illustrating the applications of a theory discussed in the first paragraph
(C) forms an argument in support of a proposal that is made in the final paragraph
(D) anticipates and provides grounds for the rejection of a theory alluded to by the author in the final paragraph
(E) explains how newly obtained data favor one of two traditional theories mentioned elsewhere in the second paragraph

7 
 7. It can be most reasonably inferred from the passage that the author holds that the recent studies discussed in the passage

(A) have produced some unexpected findings regarding the extent of human reliance on external verification of memory details
(B) shed new light on a longstanding procedural controversy in the law
(C) may be of theoretical interest despite their tentative nature and inconclusive findings
(D) provide insights into the origins of several disparate types of logically fallacious reasoning
(E) should be of more than abstract academic interest to the legal profession

8 
 8. Which one of the following can be most reasonably inferred from the information in the passage?

(A) The tendency of leading questions to cause unreliable courtroom testimony has no correlation with the extent to which witnesses are emotionally affected by the events that they have observed.

(B) Leading questions asked in the process of a courtroom examination of a witness are more likely to cause inaccurate testimony than are leading questions asked outside the courtroom.
(C) The memory processes by which newly introduced data tend to reinforce accurately remembered details of events are not relevant to explaining the effects of leading questions.
(D) The risk of testimony being inaccurate due to certain other factors tends to increase as an eyewitness’s susceptibility to giving inaccurate testimony due to the effects of leading questions increases.
(E) The traditional grounds on which leading questions can be excluded from courtroom interrogation of witnesses have been called into question by the findings of recent studies.

PyjamaScientist · Accepted Answer

A tough one. Experts may opine.

Q1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage? 
 Option B:   Because of the nature of human memory storage and retrieval, the courtroom testimony of eyewitnesses may contain crucial inaccuracies due to leading questions asked prior to the courtroom appearance. 
This encompasses the entire passage by correctly mentioning the issue of Leading Questions leading to false responses, and the nature of the human memory.

Q2. It can be reasonably inferred from the passage that which of the following, if it were effectively implemented, would most increase the justice system's ability to prevent leading questions from causing mistaken court decisions? 
 Option E:   availability of accurate transcripts of all interrogations of witnesses that occurred prior to those witnesses’ appearance in court 
Availability of transcripts could help in eliminating the testimonies if they seemed to be lead to it through the usage of leading questions.
I was confused with Option B too, but that does nothing to prevent stuff happening prior to court appearance of the witness, hence incorrect.

Q3. Which one of the following is mentioned in the passage as a way in which new data suggested to a witness by a leading question are sometimes processed?
Option A:   They are integrated with current memories as support for those memories 
The passage talks about information from leading questions reinforcing the earlier memory, which means it supports the original data. Hence, option A is correct.
 Option D  comes close, (reinterpreted so as to be compatible with the details already stored in memory), and the passage somewhat supports it with " it may be processed as belonging to the original memory even if the witness actually saw no stop sign. " So it does seem to indicate that the witness might interpret the new information to relate it with the earlier memory. This way Option D also seems to me as a probable candidate. Experts may opine. But option A is precisely working on the "reinforcement" concept mentioned in the second passage and also stands correct.

Q4. In discussing the tangential details of events, the passage contrasts their original significance to witnesses with their possible significance in the courtroom (lines 52–59). That contrast is most closely analogous to which one of the following?
Option D:   For purposes of flavor and appearance, wheat germ is not needed in flour and is usually removed during milling, but for purposes of nutrition, the germ is an important part of the grain.  
Not sure and got to this with POE. If I consider wheat germ with the "essential information like  the color of the shirt  that is needed to identify the criminal" then this option makes somewhat sense. Because it would mean, something trivial as shirt color might not be important for an observer initially but it holds importance when the identification of the culprit needs to be done. 
Option C would have made more sense if it was more like: Skins of apples are removed during preparation but the seeds ain't as they add the main flavor to the apple pie. It would have gone along the lines of the passage that something might be removed or contaminated but the "important" or "difference maker" will sustain.
The rest of the options are just too cut off from the passage and did not make any sense to me. And I exhausted good 2 minutes on this option.

Q5. Which one of the following questions is most directly answered by information in the passage?
Option E:   When is it more likely that a detail of an observed event will be accurately remembered? 
Passage says in 3rd paragraph, " The farther removed from the event, the greater the chance of a vague or incomplete recollection and the greater the likelihood of newly suggested information blending with original memories. "
So, if you are more related to the subject in question, you will remember it more. If it happened years back and now you faintly remember it, your recollection would be weak. So, Option E can be answered, and hence correct.

Q6. The second paragraph consists primarily of material that
Option A:   corroborates and adds detail to a claim made in the first paragraph  
In the first paragraph, Impact of Leading Questions to initial responses is discussed. Then author starts the second paragraph with "recent studies" and explains the "how" aspect of it. So, it supports (or corroborates) the assertion or the claim made in the first paragraph. Hence, this option is correct.

Q7. It can be most reasonably inferred from the passage that the author holds that the recent studies discussed in the passage
Option E:   should be of more than abstract academic interest to the legal profession 
Options A, B, and C do not make any sense with respect to the information in the passage, so they can be easily eliminated. Option D's language is aloof:  provides insights into the origins of several disparate types of logically fallacious reasoning . If my vocab is fine, disparate means something different. And fallacy means something like wrong. So, what this option means is passage provides insight into different unsound wrong reasonings. Nope. The passage talks only about the witness's responses being affected by the leading questions. And option E looks more connected to the theme of the passage which is shown by the line, " Alarmingly, the beliefs about an event that a witness brings to the courtroom may often be adulterated by the effects of leading questions that were introduced intentionally or unintentionally by lawyers, police investigators, reporters, or others with whom the witness has already interacted."  So the author wants it to be taken with utmost importance by the judiciary while evaluating witness statements to come to a verdict as it has a tendency to be misled by the lawyers of the opposition. Hence, it should be more important than just a mere study.
 
Q8. Which one of the following can be most reasonably inferred from the information in the
passage?
Option D:   The risk of testimony being inaccurate due to certain other factors tends to increase as an eyewitness's susceptibility to giving inaccurate testimony due to the effects of leading questions increases 
This was the toughest of them all. But, a thorough understanding of the passage will lead you to it. Passage cleverly tries to undermine our own ability to not being able to remember events if we do not pay much interest in them, so we as humans too have a tendency to present the incomplete picture of something from the past if questioned. This means we are already vulnerable to painting a not-so-accurate picture of the events that happened in the past if questioned. So, if we complement this with the "impact of leading questions", it further weakens the ability to reconstruct the picture. Thus, Option D, says- Risk of testimony being inaccurate due to memory issues increases if we add to it the effect of "leading questions". And hence this choice is correct.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Passage Summary

Topic:   Leading questions

Scope:   The effect of leading questions on eyewitness courtroom testimony

Purpose:   To examine pre-trial, corrupting questions

Main Idea:   Pre-trial leading questions can corrupt witnesses’ memories and thus their testatmony

Paragraph 1:

• Direct and indirect corruption of LQs

Paragraph 2:

• Studies: LQs can add details that weren’t there

Paragraph 3:

• Distant memories more susceptible
• minor added detail could be major

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Difficulty Level:   Medium

Explanation

Only  (B)  encompasses the topic of LQs, the scope (the effect of pre-trial LQs on testimony), and the purpose (exploring those LQs in the context of how memory functions).

(A)  fails to mention the topic of LQs altogether, and draws a distinction  (“cases in which the witness was not directly involved”)  that is nowhere raised.

(C) , too fails to mention LQs, and focuses on the small detail of  “filling gaps”  around  line 35.  (Also,  “surprise”  is not justified here.)

(D) —the prevention of LQs is outside the author’s scope.

(E)  seems to think that the author recommends a solution to the leading-question problem. While he does imply one way to improve matters—recommending solutions is hardly the main point of the piece.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. It can be reasonably inferred from the passage that which one of the following if it were effectively implemented, would most increase the justice system’s ability to prevent leading questions from causing mistaken court decisions?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

Throughout the passage, the author shows precious little interest in proposing solutions for what seems to be a major, multi-cause dilemma facing the judicial system. But question 2 insists that at least one solution is inferable. The prediction may well come up short here, so you should move rapidly to the choices, knowing that one and only one will link up acceptably to the text:

(A) —the issue of time, as well as the reference to  “tangential”  details, comes out of  paragraph 3 , but where the author is concerned with the amount of time between an event and its recollection,  (A)  brings up the amount of time given to a witness to answer—utterly irrelevant.

(B) —as far as we can tell from  lines 7-8 , there are no problems with the current criteria for disallowing testimony. Problems are caused when LQs are asked and answered prior to court—a fact that in the end will lead us to correct choice (E) when we encounter it.

(C) ’s reference to questions of a non-leading nature is way outside the scope, and  “nuances...of...responses”  is a phrase that has no bearing on the text.

(D) —evidently such interrogation already goes on. And even if more extensive questioning were called for, it would leave more room for leading questions that could exacerbate the current problem.

(E)  is all that’s left, and in fact it’s inferable from  lines 11-17 . One way to assess whether LQs had been asked pre-trial, and whether the earliest responses to such LQs had distorted witnesses’ testimony later on, would be to consult just the comprehensive transcripts that  (E)  describes.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. Which one of the following is mentioned in the passage as a way in which new data suggested to a witness by a leading question are sometimes processed?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

The  “process”  paragraph is  paragraph 2:  We hear  “process such new data”  in  line 32:  Those are the key words buried within the question stem.  (A)  paraphrases  lines 32-34 , the  “former case” (32)  of how people process new data, quite closely.

(B) — “Conjectural data” ? Bogus terminology that appears nowhere. Besides, what the passage says  “fades with time”  is memory in general. That has nothing to do with processing new data.

(C) —whether new data stay more vivid in memory hinges on a lot of factors, variously described in  paragraphs 2  and  3 , and one of those factors being whether a leading question was asked about those data.  (C)  is way too vague.

(D)  has it exactly backward. The author suggests that it’s the new data that revise or  “reinterpret”  the already-stored.

(E)—lines 26-32  imply, in contrast with  (E) , that the processing of new data may be very different when they  “actively conflict with our stored memory data.” (E)  blithely states that such conflicts are irrelevant.

Answer: A

tkorzhan1995 · Answer

Sajjad1994 , could you please advise on the basis of what A can be eliminated for Q7?

7. It can be most reasonably inferred from the passage that the author holds that the recent studies discussed in the passage

(A) have produced some unexpected findings regarding the extent of human reliance on external verification of memory details
(B) shed new light on a longstanding procedural controversy in the law
(C) may be of theoretical interest despite their tentative nature and inconclusive findings
(D) provide insights into the origins of several disparate types of logically fallacious reasoning
E) should be of more than abstract academic interest to the legal profession

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hi tkorzhan1995

Given the space, the author devotes to those studies, and such expansive language as  “confirmed the ability”  and  “led to a better understanding”  suggests a strongly positive attitude toward them.  (E)  picks up on the positive language, and is inferable based on the author’s continued interest in applying the ideas of the studies to actual courtroom experience.

(A) — “unexpected”  is no more justified here than was  “surprised”  in question 1.

faaizmasood55 · Answer

Can someone explain why the answer of 7 is not B?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Given the space the author devotes to those studies, and such expansive language as  “confirmed the ability”  and  “led to a better understanding”  suggests a strongly positive attitude toward them.  (E)  picks up on the positive language, and is inferable based on the author’s continued interest in applying the ideas of the studies to actual courtroom experience.

(B) —the phenomena described don’t qualify as  “a procedural controversy” ;  “ongoing dilemma”  would be more correct.

jain67 · Answer

Hi  KarishmaB   GMATNinja 
I have doubts about question 4- in options D and E. Can you please throw some light by giving your explanation to the question.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 4 
 
We're talking about facts that can be considered both insiginficant OR very significant depending on the context or perspective. The example given in the passage is a suspect's shirt color or hairstyle: these facts might at first seem insignificant to a witness (at least relative to the gravity and danger of the armed robbery itself), but those same facts can become very significant in the courtroom.

The "wheat germ" in choice (D) is analogous to the shirt color or hairstyle of the suspect. In one context (i.e. when it comes to flavor and appearance), wheat germ is insignificant. In another context (i.e. when it comes to nutrition), wheat germ suddenly becomes significant.

The example in the passage and the example in choice (D) share a similar contradiction: something that was insignificant suddenly becomes significant in a different context.

Choice (E) lacks that contradiction: removing the fat is good for the purposes of texture and appearance, and removing the fat is also good for the purposes of health. The value of removing the fat does NOT change depending on the context, so (D) is a better choice.

I hope that helps!

Leading questionsquestions worded in such a way as to suggest a parti

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