Zelda: Dr. Ladlow, a research psychologist, has convincingly demonstra

Zelda: Dr. Ladlow, a research psychologist, has convincingly demonstrated that his theory about the determinants of rat behaviour generates consistently accurate predictions about how rats will perform in a maze. On the basis of this evidence Dr. Ladlow has claimed that his theory is irrefutably correct.
Anson: Then Dr. Ladlow is not responsible psychologist. Dr. Ladlow‟s evidence does not conclusively prove that his theory is correct. Responsible psychologists always accept the possibility that new evidence will show that their theories are incorrect.
Which one of the following can be properly inferred from Anson‟s argument?

(B) Psychologists who can derive consistently accurate predictions about how rats will perform in a maze from their theories cannot responsibly conclude that those theories cannot be disproved

(B) is essentially paraphrasing the paragraph, which says we know that all responsible scientists admit that their theories may be incorrect. A scientist who thinks otherwise, such as Dr. Ladlow, is not being responsible. Therefore, if you are studying rat behavior (a la Ladlow) you cannot responsibly conclude that your theory is irrefutable.

(E) Psychologists who accept the possibility that new evidence will show that their theories are incorrect are responsible psychologists.

(E) is definitely very tempting. But is it something that we could reasonably infer? Let's break down the structure of the argument: All responsible psychologists are ALWAYS accept that their theories may be incorrect. All X --->Y. (E), however, is saying All Y ---> X. This is not the same thing. Just because a psychologist accepts that their theories may be incorrect does not make that person responsible. Surely, there are other criteria. For instance, a responsible psychologist must also be ethical and organized. On the other hand, if we know a psychologist to be responsible (X), then he/she will definitely accept that their respective theory may be incorrect (Y).