Bunuel
Researchers have concluded from a survey of people aged 65 that emotional well-being in adulthood is closely related to intimacy with siblings earlier in life. Those surveyed who had never had any siblings or who said that at college age they were emotionally distant from their siblings were emotionally less well adjusted at 65 than were those who had been close to at least one brother or sister.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the researchers’ argument?
(A) As they get older, many people think more about their mortality and thus must confront feelings of loneliness and isolation.
(B) People suffering from the emotional distress of maladjustment usually remember being less intimate with other people than they actually were.
(C) Memory of one’s past plays a greater role in the emotional well-being of older people than it does in that of younger people.
(D) Few people can correctly identify the true sources of their emotional well-being or of their emotional difficulties.
(E) Siblings are more likely to have major arguments and deep differences of opinion at college age than at any other time of their lives.
Similar Question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/researchers- ... 81016.htmlI'd go with B. Option B shows a factual error in the question stimulus, that's normally a correct choice for weakener questions.
(A) As they get older, many people think more about their mortality and thus must confront feelings of loneliness and isolation. -->We need a linkage with the siblings during younger age. Nothing links this answer to the peoples' connects with siblings.
(B) People suffering from the emotional distress of maladjustment usually remember being less intimate with other people than they actually were. --> Describes a flaw in the stimulus and hence likely to be correct
(C) Memory of one’s past plays a greater role in the emotional well-being of older people than it does in that of younger people. --> Similar to option A. Nothing connects the stimulus to the siblings. It's a standalone fact that doesn't impact the argument in any way.
(D) Few people can correctly identify the true sources of their emotional well-being or of their emotional difficulties. --> This places a question on whether the respondents were actually emotionally stressed. Not a central part of the argument.
(E) Siblings are more likely to have major arguments and deep differences of opinion at college age than at any other time of their lives. --> One can have arguments yet share a strong emotional bond, this doesn't necessarily show that there was a lack of emotional bond.
Hence (B)