The idea that equipping homes with electrical appliances and other

Question

The  idea  that equipping homes with electrical appliances and other “modern” household technologies would eliminate drudgery, save labor time, and increase leisure for women who were full-time home workers remained largely unchallenged until the women’s movement of the 1970’s spawned the groundbreaking and influential works of sociologist Joann Vanek and historian Ruth Cowan. Vanek analyzed 40 years of time-use surveys conducted by home economists to argue that electrical appliances and other modern household technologies reduced the effort required to perform specific tasks, but ownership of these appliances did not correlate with less time spent on housework by full-time home workers.  In fact, time spent by these workers remained remarkably constant—at about 52 to 54 hours per week—from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, a period of significant change in household technology.  In surveying two centuries of household technology in the United States, Cowan argued that the “industrialization” of the home often resulted in more work for full-time home workers because the use of such devices as coal stoves, water pumps, and vacuum cleaners tended to reduce the workload of married-women’s helpers (husbands, sons, daughters, and servants) while promoting a more rigorous standard of housework. The full-time home worker’s duties also shifted to include more household management, child care, and the post-Second World War phenomenon of being “Mom’s taxi.”   1 
 1. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the  idea  mentioned in the highlighted text?

(A) It has been undermined by data found in time-use surveys conducted by home economists.
(B) It was based on a definition of housework that was explicitly rejected by Vanek and Cowan.
(C) It is more valid for the time period studied by Cowan than for the time period studied by Vanek.
(D) It is based on an underestimation of the time that married women spent on housework prior to the industrialization of the household.
(E) It inaccurately suggested that new household technologies would reduce the effort required to perform housework.

2 
 2. The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) analyzing a debate between two scholars
(B) challenging the evidence on which a new theory is based
(C) describing how certain scholars’ work countered a prevailing view
(D) presenting the research used to support a traditional theory
(E) evaluating the methodology used to study a particular issue

3 
 3. The passage suggests that Vanek and Cowan would agree that modernizing household technology did not

(A) reduce the workload of servants and other household helpers
(B) raise the standard of housework that women who were full-time home workers set for themselves
(C) decrease the effort required to perform household tasks
(D) reduce the time spent on housework by women who were full-time home workers
(E) result in a savings of money used for household maintenance

4 
 4. According to the passage, Cowan asserts which of the following about married women's helpers over the past two centuries ?

(A) they were encouraged to participate more actively in the work of the household by the advent of modern conveniences.
(B) the industrialization of the home affected the time spent on housework in the same way.
(C) they spent more time on household tasks because of the more rigorous standards of housework promoted by the industrialization of the home.
(D) they had less leisure time after the industrialization of the home than has been assumed by most historians.
(E) they spent less time on housework with the advent of such devices as the coal stove and the water pump.

5 
 5. Which of the following best describes the function of the highlighted sentence :  In fact, time spent by these workers .............household technology.   ?

(A) It offers an alternative interpretation of a phenomenon described in the previous sentence.
(B) It provides the specific evidence on which an argument described in the previous sentence is based.
(C) It shifts the focus of the argument developed earlier in the passage.
(D) It introduces evidence that has not been taken into account by Vanek and Cowan.
(E) It introduces a topic for discussion that will be developed in the rest of the passage.

nalinnair · Accepted Answer

Read the passage and answered the second and third question in 3 min 8 sec.
Please highlight the relevant text for Q1.

2) The passage is primarily concerned with
A. analyzing a debate between two scholars
 Incorrect. The Passage puts forth the scholars arguments and findings but does not analyze these. 
B. challenging the evidence on which a new theory is
based
 Incorrect. The passage does not discuss a new theory but a prevailing belief. 
C. describing how certain scholars’ work countered a
prevailing view
 Correct. The prevailing view mentioned in the first sentence has been countered by the work done by 2 scholars. 
D. presenting the research used to support a
traditional theory
 Incorrect. Traditional theory is not supported. In fact, a prevailing view has been challenged. 
E. evaluating the methodology used to study a
particular issue
 Incorrect. The passage does not discuss methodology. It presents the findings of two scholars against a prevalent view.

3) The passage suggests that Vanek and Cowan would
agree that modernizing household technology did not
A. reduce the workload of servants and other
household helpers
 Incorrect. In fact Cowen agreed that this thing did happen. Refer line: "Cowan argued that the “industrialization” of the home often resulted in more work for full-time home workers because the use of such devices as coal stoves, water pumps, and vacuum cleaners tended to  reduce the workload of married-women’s helpers (husbands, sons, daughters, and servants) ...." 
B. raise the standard of housework that women who
were full-time home workers set for themselves
 Incorrect. This is also something that Cowen agreed happened. Refer same line as A above: "Cowan argued that the “industrialization” of the home often resulted in .......while  promoting a more rigorous standard of housework ." 
C. decrease the effort required to perform household
tasks
 Incorrect. Again, Vanek agreed that this did happen. Refer lines: "Vanek analyzed 40 years of time-use surveys conducted by home economists to argue that electrical appliances and other modern household technologies  reduced the effort required to perform specific tasks ,...." 
D. reduce the time spent on housework by women
who were full-time home workers
 Correct. Both Vanek and Cowen agreed that this DID NOT happen. Refer lines: "but ownership of these appliances  did not correlate with less time spent on housework  by full-time home workers" and "Cowan argued that the “industrialization” of the home often  resulted in more work for full-time home workers " 
E. result in a savings of money used for household maintenance
 Incorrect. Both scholars never discussed money being saved.

nalinnair · Answer

Ok. Regarding the first question, I am guessing the idea mentioned in the highlighted text refers to the idea mentioned in the first sentence of the passage.

1) According to the passage, which of the following is
true about the idea mentioned in the highlighted text?
A. It has been undermined by data found in time-use
surveys conducted by home economists.
 Correct. Findings from the surveys conducted byCowen and Vanek challenge the idea in the first sentence. 
B. It was based on a definition of housework that was
explicitly rejected by Vanek and Cowan.
 Incorrect. Definition of housework is not even discussed in the passage. 
C. It is more valid for the time period studied by
Cowan than for the time period studied by Vanek.
 Incorrect. The passage does not provide information to infer this. 
D. It is based on an underestimation of the time that
married women spent on housework prior to the
industrialization of the household.
 Incorrect. The passage does not say that the prevalent view or the idea is based on an underestimation of the time that married women spent on housework prior to the industrialization of the household. In fact, the passage says that the belief that time saved from industrialization meant more leisure time for women is not correct based on the findings of the two scholars. 
E. It inaccurately suggested that new household
technologies would reduce the effort required to
perform housework.
 Incorrect. In fact the scholars agreed that new household technologies reduced the effort required to perform housework.

jabhatta2 · Answer

GMATNinja

On Question 1 -- Why not E

From the paragraph -- it seems like the idea got it totally wrong ...The idea thought industrialization would save labor time but it didnt

Per the paragraph -- seems like time spent remained constant

"time spent by these workers remained remarkably constant—at about 52 to 54 hours per week—from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, a period of significant change in household technology"

Hence why is (E) wrong in that case ?

GMATNinja · Answer

First, take another look at the "idea" referenced in the question: "equipping homes with electrical appliances and other “modern” household technologies would  eliminate drudgery, save labor time, and increase leisure  for women who were full-time home workers." Now, let's look at the answer choice in the context of this idea:

In your analysis, you point out that " time spent  remained constant." (E) specifies a reduction in  effort , not a reduction in  time.

The author of the passage states that surveys conducted by home economists originally intended to show that "modern household technologies  reduced the effort required to perform specific tasks."  After analyzing data from these surveys, Vanek found that "ownership of these appliances  did not correlate with less time  spent on housework by full-time home workers." So, while specific tasks required less effort, the time spent on housework remained constant.

Because of this evidence, we cannot say that the suggestion that household technologies reduced the effort required to perform housework is "inaccurate," as stated in answer choice (E).

I hope that helps!

jabhatta2 · Answer

karishma   GMATNinja   SajjadAhmad ,  GMATNinjaTwo ,  bm2201

For Q4 -- why is E accurate ?

Per the passage, the font in in purple clearly states the "Workload" has reduced for helpers

Putting on my critical thinking hat -- i thought okay, even if the workload has reduced -- does not necessarily mean, the overall time spent on household chores by these helpers has reduced.

It's quite possible even with less work-load because of technological advancement , the time spent on chores by these helpers still remains the same.

Example : if tomorrow, my work load has been cut by half -- i still may end up spending 8 hours at work because a) i could stretch out the existing 50 % work i still have on my plate b) i could be given additional brand new chores

Put on my Critical reasoning cap -- i thought E was iffy.

Instead, i found it hard to eliminate B (I chose B)

B has to be true in-fact because if B is not true, the entire argument   put forth by Cowan and Vanek falls apart (B is a necessary assumption to be true)

Thoughts ?

pallavinaik · Answer

GMATNinja  Could you please explain answer to the first question ? As per my understanding Vanek and Cowan are sociologist and are not economist then how A is the answer ?

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 1 
 
Question 1 asks us what is true about the idea that "equipping homes with electrical appliances and other “modern” household technologies would eliminate drudgery, save labor time, and increase leisure for women who were full-time home workers."

Take another look at the exact wording of (A):
 
You're right that Vanek and Cowan aren't home economists themselves. But (A) doesn't specify that Vanek/Cowan are home economists -- it talks about a  survey  conducted by   home economists.

This is supported by the passage:

"Vanek analyzed 40 years of time-use surveys  conducted by home economists  to argue that electrical appliances and other modern household technologies reduced the effort required to perform specific tasks, but ownership of these appliances did not correlate with less time spent on housework by full-time home workers."   
Here, Vanek used a survey that was conducted by home economists to make her point. Specifically, she argues that the survey undermines the idea that "modern" technologies saved labor time for home workers.

(A) is the correct answer to Question 1.

Question 4 
 
The exact wording of option (B) for Question 4 seems a bit unclear. Does anyone have a screenshot of the question from GMATPrep to verify its accuracy?

nikitamaheshwari · Answer

Can someone explain option choice C for the 4th Question?
 VeritasKarishma   GMATNinja

KarishmaB · Answer

The answer to question 4 is given in this line:
 Cowan argued that the “industrialization” of the home often resulted in more work for full-time home workers because the use of such devices as coal stoves, water pumps, and vacuum cleaners tended to reduce the workload of married-women’s helpers (husbands, sons, daughters, and servants) while promoting a more rigorous standard of housework.

Industrialization of home (use of coal stoves, water pumps, and vacuum cleaners) reduced the work of helpers (husbands, sons, daughters, and servants) but it led to more work for the full-time home worker (the lady of the house) since it led to higher standards (more cleanliness expected, water available in all washing areas at all times etc). So the helpers' jobs got easier since say instead of sweeping, they used the vacuum but the lady spent more time in managing the higher standards say to ensure that the house is always clean.

4. According to the passage, Cowan asserts which of the following about married women's helpers over the past two centuries ?

C) they spent more time on household tasks because of the more rigorous standards of housework promoted by the industrialization of the home.
Not correct. They spent less time on household tasks.

E) they spent less time on housework with the advent of such devices as the coal stove and the water pump.
Correct.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The idea that equipping homes with electrical appliances and other

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