People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer on average

Question

People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer, on average, than people who do not. It has been found that ‘doing good,’ a category that certainly includes volunteer work, releases endorphins, the brain's natural opiates, which induce in people a feeling of well-being. Clearly, there is a connection: Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.

Which of the following, it true most seriously undermines the force of the evidence given as support for the hypothesis that endorphins promote longevity

(A) People who do regular volunteer work are only somewhat more likely than others to characterize the work they do for a living as "doing good."

(B) Although extremely high levels of endorphins could be harmful to health, such levels are never reached as a result of the natural release of endorphins.

(C) There are many people who have done some volunteer work but who do not do such work regularly.

(D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are healthy and energetic to begin with.

(E) Releases of endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being experienced by many long-distance runners while running.

ID - CR03695

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Accepted Answer

People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer. on average, than people who do not. It has
been found that ‘doing good.’ a category that certainly includes volunteer work, releases endorphins, the brain's natural opiates, which induce in people a feeling of well-being. Clearly, there is a connection: Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.
Which of the following, it true most seriously undermine the force of the evidence given as support the hypothesis that endorphins promote longevity

(A) People who do regular volunteer work are only somewhat more likely than others to characterize the work they do for as a ‘doing good.’

(B) Although extremely high levels of endorphins could be harmful to health, such levels are never reached as a result of the natural release of endorphins.

(C) There are many people who have done some volunteer work but who do not do such work regularly.

(D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are healthy and energetic to begin with.

(E) Releases of endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being experienced by many long-distance runners while running .

Type : Weaken
 Boil It Down : Volunteer -> Endorphins -> Live longer
 Missing Information : There are no other factors causing these people to live longer
 Goal :  Find the option that exposes another reason why these people are living longer other than endorphins

Ⓐ  Whether the people “doing good” are or are not aware that it would be classified as “doing good” is entirely irrelevant. What is relevant is whether “doing good” is responsible.

Ⓑ  Out of Focus. Are EXTREMELY high endorphin levels within the focus of discussion in this prompt? No. Boot it.

Ⓒ  The fraction of people who do this kind of work is also outside of the logical focus of this argument. This argument deals with people who do volunteer, not what fraction of people in general volunteer.

Ⓓ  Yes! This option exposes that the people who volunteer tend to be healthier and energetic to begin with. Therefore maybe their greater longevity has nothing to do with the volunteerism, but rather they’re predisposition to longer lives anyhow.

Ⓔ  Are we at all concerned with the sensation that runners feel? Mind-bogglingly out of focus. This option takes us on a total tangent.

vishwaprakash · Answer

Argument Analysis :
People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer.
volunteer work, releases endorphins and Endo Makes people feel well.
Conclusion : Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives
In other word, Endo -> well being -> Live long

We need to find the weakener for this cause effect argument.
Weakener can be
1. Alternate cause
2. Cause happened before effect or cause caused effect.

Only Option D says, Effect is cause. Hence Option D is good weakener Rest are out of scope.

Pal22 · Answer

This is a Cause and Effect relationship. A reverse relationship will undermine the statement and that's what we get from option   Ⓓ

D  This tells us that healthy people tend to get involved in voluntary work and not the vice cersa.

KarnaGMAT · Answer

Different reasoning!!

As per my understanding for option D:

It provides an alternate cause for the Effect ( Endo-->Longevity ). As per option D people are healthier and energetic and therefore will have longevity. It provides an alternate cause ( not endo...) for longevity of people. People are healthier and energetic ( reason for longevity ) and joins volunteer work . Clearly states Endo..is not the reason for longevity.

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

People who do volunteering tend to live longer because they feel happy because of the endorphin release. 
Conclusion:Volunteering work extend's people's lives.

We need to weaken this conclusion.

1. What if something else increases the lives? 
2. What if the persons are already healthy? 
In these cases, we cannot conclude that endorphins released as a result of volunteering increase lives

Of the given option, option D resonates with point 2

Correct Option: D

LogicGuru1 · Answer

ANSWER IS D 
 
 The statement commits the logical fallacy of "Non Causa Pro causa" Which when translated in English means .. It is not the cause, but it is the effect. 
The same mistaken reversal is happening in the question.
 
 Voltuneer work -->Felling good-->release of Endopherenin are cited as the reason for living longer BUT in reality people who are already healthy and energetic and are thus already likely to live longer are the ones who are doing volunteer work. 
 
  (D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are healthy and energetic to begin with. 
     THUS D IS THE ANSWER

anothermillenial · Answer

The conclusion is that  regular endorphins lead to longevity . The stimulus supports this evidence with the following premises:

* People who volunteer live longer. (That’s already pretty faulty. Also, why?)
* “Doing good” releases endorphins and that leads to well-being. (OK, that kind of explains it.)

A correct answer choice that would WEAKEN the hypothesis that endorphins lead to longevity. A good weaken choice would offer an alternate explanation for longer life (better diet? better genes?). Another choice could be one that tells us the people who do volunteer work were healthier to start off with anyway, so that study isn’t that reliable. We need an answer choice that shows IMPACT to longevity.

Which of the following, it true most seriously undermine the force of the evidence given as support the hypothesis that endorphins promote longevity?

This answer choice tells us about how the volunteers think of their work. If people don’t characterise their activities as “doing good”, does that mean that it would release endorphins?

This tells us more information about how endorphins “could be harmful” but not about how these levels AFFECT longevity. 
 
Ok, but the regularity of their work might not affect longevity….also this talks about non-regular volunteers, when our stimulus discusses regular volunteers. This is a “opposing group” wrong answer.

Ah, this tells us the conclusion is flawed because it’s “missing information”! This is an “incomplete information” answer choice. This would definitely make our author reconsider his statement.

OK, this is basically repeating the premise stated in the stimulus. This has no impact on the conclusion.

Tracy95 · Answer

I think the reasoning in this question is very similar to in this one https://gmatclub.com/forum/asthma-a-chr ... l#p1878932 You guys can try it out.

HarshaGM · Answer

Correct Answer: option (D)

Gist of the passage: 
1. Observation: people who do volunteer work tend to live longer than people who do not.
2. Finding: 
 (Doing good, for example, volunteer work) -> (release of endorphins in the body) -> (feeling of well being)
3. Conclusion: 
There is a connection. Release of endorphins somehow leads to extension of people's lives. In other words -

(Doing good, for example, volunteer work) -> (release of endorphins in the body) -> (feeling of well being) -> (longer life of these people)

Question:  Find the statement that will weaken the above logic (endorphins -> longevity).

Thought Process:  
1. Any statement that provides another causality i.e. another reason for the long life other than endorphins is a good weakener.  (provides an alternate logic) 
2. Any statement that proves that (feeling of well being) does not lead to (longevity) is a good weakener i.e. (feeling of well being) -x> (longevity)  (breaks the existing logic)

(A) People who do regular volunteer work are only somewhat more likely than others to characterize the work they do for as a ‘doing good.’ 
Irrelevant. From the passage, we already know that (doing good) -> (release of endorphins). Whether the people feel they are doing good does not impact the chain of logic in the argument. For all we know, just the act of doing good subconsciously triggers endorphin release, irrespective of the conscious characterisation.

(B) Although extremely high levels of endorphins could be harmful to health, such levels are never reached as a result of the natural release of endorphins. 
Irrelevant to the argument. This only tells us that the levels of endorphins in this case are not harmful, because this is a natural release. This does not have any impact on our argument.

(C) There are many people who have done some volunteer work but who do not do such work regularly. 
Irrelevant. Frequency or regularity is not a factor considered in the argument. All we know is that if one does volunteer work, endorphins are released. The argument talks only about people who do volunteer, in general - no distinction made between those who volunteer regularly and those who volunteer occasionally. So, this has no bearing on the argument's logic.

(D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are healthy and energetic to begin with. 
Correct! This is in sync with our type 1 of weakener (provides an alternate logic). 
If people who tend to get involved in volunteer work are healthy and energetic to begin with, compared to people who do not volunteer, how can we be sure that the longevity observed is because of the volunteering work, and not because of the pre-existing better health of these people?
Hence, this is a correct weakener.

(E) Releases of endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being experienced by many long-distance runners while running. 
Incorrect for multiple reasons.

What the option tells us:
In long distance runners, while they are running, (running) -> (release of endorphins) -> (sense of well being)

1. Can long distance runners (athletes - expected to be fit and healthy) be compared to the group of people in the argument (regular people who do volunteer work)?
2. Even if the group is relevant, the above option only states that (endorphins) -> (sense of well being). This is part of the author's logic. How can this be a weakener then?

So, this option is a definite no, as far as weakener goes.

Cheers!

Abhiwiking · Answer

In all CR questions there is only one common fundamental!! Just read the passage n get to root in a structure like author is saying Y because X...sure there will a lot of background and even side information but there will be a core set of premise supporting author's veiw...once you figure it out your all job almost done!!! after that we need to find gap along authors reasoning...there will be a lot of answers choices that will strengthen or weaken the argument but that will not be in line of reasoning presented in arguement...so watch out ...

Now coming to this question...

Authors says
Endorphins promote longevity because 
Studies shows people who volunteer lived longer because during regular volunteering endorphins released!!! 
Note: getting gist is an art  You  will get better by practicing and analyzing...but I answer all questions this way ...

So Gap is quite obvious!!!
1)He assumed it was endorphins that caused them live longer!! In volunteering regularly not any other factors that might come when you regularly volunteer 
2) He assumed it was because of volunteering not because of any other factors than this...

And this is very normal structure where author assumes it was only this X which caused Y ...just because Y and X happened doesn't mean they have to be correlated!!!

So weakner would be any options that says it was endorphins and indeed some other factors that led them live longer...

A) it's not because they will characterize some good work bad then it's bad.. whatever they characterize endorphins will release anyway..so it does not let you assume that okay they didn't characterize it as good work as such so no endorphins n there have been other factors!! Its almost challenging premise too...its written volunteering is categorized Good and endorphins release in that

B) irrelevant!! Its not about endorphins levels !! Its about he whether endorphins caused it or not!! For an instance word natural release might hit many of us..okay endorphins releases naturally so its same in those who dont do volunteering..but still that didn't make us prove that this didn't cause them to live longer

C) it's about regular volunteering ppl not irregular one..out of scope

D) correct as it is saying ppl were already healthy and fit who started volunteering so it's not endorphins rather their initial state made them get into volunteering..so health caused endorphins release in a way you can say ..opposite of what author assumes 
Just here few ppl might have doubts like ppl having health and energetic doesn't mean they live longer..true but we need to assume slight things..cuz GMAT cant give all straight for strenghthener weakner..after all they just add support ..dont make it solid..like assumptions only questions

E) Endorphins are responsible for something in runners..do how does it make us believe okay this will be applicable for volunteering men too..

Posted from my mobile device

AyeeshaJ · Answer

Hey  GMATNinja , what is wrong with (A) here?

GMATNinja · Answer

Let's make sure we're totally clear on what the argument is saying before tackling (A).

The hypothesis given in the passage is:  "Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives."

The evidence given for this is:
 1) People who regularly volunteer live longer, on average, than those who don't
2) 'doing good' releases endorphins, inducing a feeling of well-being
3) Volunteering is one of the things that counts as 'doing good'

We're asked to find the answer choice that most seriously undermines the force of the evidence given as support for the hypothesis.

So, we're looking for something that negates or weakens the force of the evidence behind the conclusion.

(A) tells us:
 
First, (A) talks about work people do  "for a living,"  which is entirely different from volunteer work. So, regular volunteers are somewhat more likely to think that they "do good" while working their  regular jobs.  This doesn't tell us anything about their volunteer work. Maybe they feel great about their volunteer work, or maybe they do not.

The second issue is that the people who do regular volunteer work may only be  somewhat  more likely to characterize their work as "doing good", but they are still  more likely  than others to do so.

Therefore,  on average , people who volunteer regularly will get an endorphin release from the work they do for a living more often than those who don't regularly volunteer. These people will also spend time volunteering, so will also get the endorphin release from "doing good" by volunteering that the other group will not get. And, since we're told that people who volunteer live longer, on average, than those who don't, (A) has not undermined the evidence behind the hypothesis. (A) is out.

Compare this to (D):
 
(D) provides us with an alternative explanation for why people who volunteer regularly live longer than those who don't. It isn't the volunteering itself that makes these people live longer, it's the fact that volunteering attracts those who are already  "healthy and energetic to begin with."

This undermines the idea that it is the repeated bursts of endorphins caused by the act of 'doing good' in volunteering that is making the people that volunteer regularly live longer than those who don't.

(D) undermines the force of the evidence given in support of the hypothesis, so (D) is the answer to this question.

I hope that helps!

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer, on average, than people who do not. It has been found that ‘doing good,’ a category that certainly includes volunteer work, releases endorphins, the brain's natural opiates, which induce in people a feeling of well-being. Clearly, there is a connection: Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.

Which of the following, it true most seriously undermines the force of the evidence given as support for the hypothesis that endorphins promote longevity

​
The hypothesis is that there is a connection: Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.

If we need to weaken the argument, we need to say the otherwise-  that there is no such connection.

Option D does just that .  Only healthy and energetic people tend to do regular volunteer work- hence the longevity.   Option D gives another reason for longevity. 
​

(A) People who do regular volunteer work  are only somewhat  more likely than others to characterize  the work they do for a living  as "doing good."
 Not relevant to the hypothesis.  Eliminate 
​
(B) Although  extremely high levels of endorphins could be harmful to health,   such levels are never reached  as a result of the natural release of endorphins.
Not relevant to the hypothesis.  Eliminate 
​
(C) There are many people who have done some volunteer work but  who do not do such work regularly. 
The conclusion talks about regular releases of endorphins. People who don’t do regular exercise are beyond the scope of the argument.  Eliminate .
​
(D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are healthy and energetic, to begin with-  Correct 
​
(E)  Releases of endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being experienced by many long-distance runners while running.

Releases of endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being experienced by many long-distance runners while running.
- the conclusion is that- there is a connection: Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.
E is not relevant to the conclusion at all. 
Another serious flaw in option E is that sense of well-being cannot be equated with longevity.
Option E says that endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being. But does that lead to longevity? There's no data. 
 Eliminate .

Vishnupriya
GMAT Verbal SME

KarishmaB · Answer

It is a causation vs correlation question.

Premises:  
People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer, on average, than people who do not. - Correlation
It has been found that ‘doing good,’ a category that certainly includes volunteer work, releases endorphins,  which induce in people a feeling of well-being.

Conclusion:   Clearly, there is a connection. Regular releases of endorphins must in some way help to extend people's lives.

We are concluding that regular releases of endorphins must help to extend people's lives. That volunteer work is the cause of longer life.
We need to weaken this. How do we weaken Correlation-causation? We are given that A and B are correlated and the author is concluding A causes B. We can weaken by saying that B could be causing A or some other variable C could be causing both A and B.

(A) People who do regular volunteer work are only somewhat more likely than others to characterize the work they do for a living as "doing good."

How people categorize work is irrelevant.

(B) Although extremely high levels of endorphins could be harmful to health, such levels are never reached as a result of the natural release of endorphins.

Extremely high levels of endorphins are out of scope. In any case, it doesn't weaken the conclusion about the positive effects of endorphins if extremely high levels are not reached by doing good.

(C) There are many people who have done some volunteer work but who do not do such work regularly.

Our argument is all about "regular volunteer work". Volunteer work done sometimes is irrelevant.

(D) People tend not to become involved in regular volunteer work unless they are healthy and energetic to begin with.

Here it is. Another variable C ( healthy and energetic people) is responsible for both volunteer work and longer life. Only healthy and energetic people people become involved in regular volunteer work and it is logical that healthy and energetic people will live longer lives. Hence this weakens our conclusion.

(E) Releases of endorphins are responsible for the sense of well-being experienced by many long-distance runners while running.

We are discussing the ones who do volunteer work, not long distance runners. So what is happening in that particular sub-group is irrelevant.

Answer (D)

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People who do regular volunteer work tend to live longer on average

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