Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces tempo

Question

Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces temporary incidents of high blood pressure. A recent study further showed, however, that people who are easily angered are significantly more likely to have permanently high blood pressure than are people who have more tranquil personalities. Coupled with the long-established fact that those with permanently high blood pressure are especially likely to have heart disease, the recent findings indicate that heart disease can result from psychological factors.

Which one of the following would, if true, most weaken the psychologist’s argument?

(A) Those who are easily angered are less likely to recover fully from episodes of heart disease than are other people.

(B) Medication designed to control high blood pressure can greatly affect the moods of those who use it.

(C) People with permanently high blood pressure who have tranquil personalities virtually never develop heart disease.

(D) Those who discover that they have heart disease tend to become more easily frustrated by small difficulties.

(E) The physiological factors that cause permanently high blood pressure generally make people quick to anger.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

EXPLANATION FROM Fox LSAT

The first sentence says that becoming angry can  cause  incidents of high blood pressure. The second sentence says that a recent study shows a  correlation  between being easily angered and having permanently high blood pressure. The third sentence says there is a  correlation  between permanently high blood pressure and heart disease. The conclusion says, “Heart disease can be  caused  by psychological factors.”

This doesn’t quite all add up. It’s a very attenuated argument. The only causal premise is the first one: that becoming angry can cause temporary incidents of high blood pressure. From this, the argument ends up with a causal conclusion about heart disease, which is only shown to be  correlated  with permanently high blood pressure. I don’t have a great prediction here, but I think I can find it in the answer choices.

A) Recovery is irrelevant. The argument was only about the incidence of heart disease.

B) “Greatly affect the moods” doesn’t sound great, because we can’t know whether moods would be affected positively or negatively. If it said “negatively,” then this answer would be a weakener, because it would suggest that blood pressure can cause anger problems, thus ruining the logic of the argument. But if it said “positively,” then it would be either irrelevant or a strengthener. We should choose B only if there aren’t any other good answers.

C) People with tranquil personalities are irrelevant. The question is whether anger can cause heart disease. Furthermore, “virtually never” is too amorphous to pick. It’s possible that even angry people “virtually never” get heart disease, and there could  still  be a causal relationship between anger and heart disease. This is out.

D) This is probably true in real life, but it doesn’t have any effect on the argument one way or the other. Next contestant.

E) Yep. If physiological factors cause both high blood pressure and anger, this would undermine the psychologist's attempted connection of psychological factors and high blood pressure/heart disease.

E is our answer.

100mitra · Answer

Correct option E  
 Argument :  Easily anger person  lead to  High Blood Pressure  lead to  Heart disease  lead to  Psychological factors

Which one of the following would, if true,  most weaken the psychologist’s argument ?

(A) Those  who are easily angered  are 
less likely to recover fully from episodes of heart disease 
 than are other people .
 Flaw:  gives general statement about the recovery for people from heart disease

(B)  Medication  designed to control high blood pressure 
can greatly affect the moods of those who use it.
 Flaw:  Gives one of the solution or remedies to reduce heart disease, not the reason to weaken the argument

(C) People with  permanently high blood pressure  
who have  tranquil personalities  virtually never develop heart disease
 Wrong : compares tranquil personalities with easily getting person angry.

(D) Those who discover that they have heart disease 
tend to become more easily frustrated by  small difficulties .
 Flaw:  this gives details only about the small difficulties, fail to consider big difficulties which can also impact on High blood pressure causing heart disease, but still it doesnt weaken the argument.

(E) The  physiological factors  that  cause permanently high blood  pressure generally  make people quick to anger .
 Correct:  Weaken the argument, its says physiological factors makes person angry lead to high blood pressure, not necessary it will also lead to heart disease, as explained in Argument

unraveled · Answer

Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces temporary incidents of high blood pressure. A recent study further showed, however, that people who are easily angered are significantly more likely to have permanently high blood pressure than are people who have more tranquil personalities. Coupled with the long-established fact that those with permanently high blood pressure are especially likely to have heart disease, the recent findings indicate that heart disease can result from psychological factors.

Which one of the following would, if true, most weaken the psychologist’s argument?

Easily angered ---> permanently high BP ---> heart disease.
As per recent findings:
psychological factors(with permanently high BP) ---> hearth disease.

So, we need to find something that may lead to heart disease instead of psychological factors. 
OR 
What lead to anger itself?
OR
Psychological factors are in reverse caused by permanently high BP.
OR 
Any other reverse causality.

(A) Those who are easily angered are less likely to  recover fully  from episodes of heart disease than are other people. - WRONG. Diverts from core of the passage.

(B)  Medication  designed to control high blood pressure can greatly  affect the moods  of those who use it. - WRONG. Again diverts.

(C) People with permanently high blood pressure  who have tranquil personalities  virtually never develop heart disease. - WRONG. Tranquil people are not concerned.

(D) Those who discover that they have heart disease tend to become more easily frustrated by small difficulties. - WRONG. It does look like a psychological factor but it doesn't touches upon the core that we are looking for.

(E) The physiological factors that cause permanently high blood pressure generally make people quick to anger. - CORRECT. Gives a reverse causality thus weakening the argument.

Answer E.

rocky620 · Answer

AndrewN  sir,

Can you please help, what is the flaw in my below reasoning?

Argument states:  Anger (psychological factor)---->High Blood Pressure---->Heart Diseases
 Also,  Easily angered people----> Permanent high blood pressure.
 Conclusion:  It is likely that Psychological factor (anger)---->Heart Diseases

Option E:  The physiological factors that cause permanently high blood pressure generally make people quick to anger.

Psychological Factor---->High Blood Pressure----> Quick to anger. It is actually supporting the conclusion

Option D:  Those who discover that they have heart disease tend to become more easily frustrated by small difficulties.

Here, Heart Disease----> Anger. In this causality is reversed.

Option D should be the correct answer.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,   rocky620  . The problem I have with (D) is the last part,  by small difficulties . The answer would be stronger if it just cut off at  frustrated . The argument is not concerned with the  types  of difficulties that lead to frustration—despite the mention of  people who are easily angered —only with the chain of causality you have outlined above, so we cannot weaken the argument by pointing to  small difficulties  triggering a negative reaction. This is exactly the sort of specificity that often works against an answer choice.

One way to weaken the argument, as  unraveled  has noted above, is to knock out a link in the chain of causality that the argument builds upon. In the words of the passage:

becoming angry  →  temporary incidents of high blood pressure  (line 1)

people who are easily angered  →  permanently high blood pressure  (line 2)

those with permanently high blood pressure  →  heart disease  (line 3, premise)

psychological factors  →  heart disease  (line 3, conclusion)

In short, the above syllogism removes the middle links of the process. But what if something else were at work? That seems to be what (E) is driving at. Notice that this arrow of causality involves   physio logical factors  (which may include  psycho logical factors). As the name implies,  physiological  refers to physical processes (as well as chemical processes, but that is less pertinent here). If a larger bodily process    permanently high blood pressure  and    people quick to anger , then we cannot say that psychological factors alone lead to the anger that purportedly leads to heart disease. In fact, it seems as though physiological factors → permanently high blood pressure → anger. The entire chain of logic has been broken.

I do not think this question would appear as is on the GMAT™; the LSAT is much more concerned with formal logic. Studier beware.

- Andrew

arora1999 · Answer

just fyi to anyone who is super confused on how E is the answer. 
The answer choice states physiological factors cause high BP and make people quick to anger. 
By definition Physiological means - relating to the ways in which an organism's body part functions.

The question stem mentions  "psychological factors"  - which means relating to the mind (in this case getting angry).

they are 2 different words, while under duress in the exam it would be very easy to read both of them as the same word and make mistakes.

It is a silly mistake but still doesn't hurt to put this out there.

rishabh1105 · Answer

Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces temporary incidents of high blood pressure. A recent study further showed, however, that people who are easily angered are significantly more likely to have permanently high blood pressure than are people who have more tranquil personalities. Coupled with the long-established fact that those with permanently high blood pressure are especially likely to have heart disease, the recent findings indicate that heart disease can result from psychological factors.

Which one of the following would, if true, most weaken the psychologist’s argument?

(A) Those who are easily angered are less likely to recover fully from episodes of heart disease than are other people.
Doesnt matter, argument still holds true, that heart disease can result from psychological factors

(B) Medication designed to control high blood pressure can greatly affect the moods of those who use it.
Trap. Medication can affect the mood but do we know it is anger? May be he is happy?

(C) People with permanently high blood pressure who have tranquil personalities virtually never develop heart disease.
So what? heart disease can still result from psychological factors. Argument still holds

(D) Those who discover that they have heart disease tend to become more easily frustrated by small difficulties.
Frustated doesn't mean anger/high blood pressure. So argument can still hold true.

(E) The physiological factors that cause permanently high blood pressure generally make people quick to anger.
If physiological factors can cause perm high blood pressure AND can also make people quick to anger. We know that anger(psychological factor) isnt the reason for high blood pressure so it weakens.

KarishmaB · Answer

Premises:  
- Becoming angry often induces temporary incidents of high blood pressure. 
- people who are easily angered are significantly more likely to have permanently high blood pressure (correlation between Anger and High BP)
- those with permanently high blood pressure are especially likely to have heart disease (correlation between High BP and heart disease)

Conclusion  : Heart disease can result from psychological factors.

We need to weaken it (not break it, just weaken it). How do we weaken A causes B? By saying 'B could cause A' or 'C could cause both A and B.' Mind you, it is still possible that A causes B. We are just weakening it by saying that the relation could be reverse or a third agent may be causing both.

(A) Those who are easily angered are less likely to recover fully from episodes of heart disease than are other people.

Recovery from heart disease is out of scope.

(B) Medication designed to control high blood pressure can greatly affect the moods of those who use it.

We are assuming here that those with high BP are taking medicines for it. This is an unwarranted assumption. The argument does not say that people angered easily and those who are more likely to be taking medications for high BP. It says they are those who have high BP. Whether they know they have high BP and whether they are treating it is unknown. 
Though, I would shortlist this option as a possible answer.

(C) People with permanently high blood pressure who have tranquil personalities virtually never develop heart disease.

People who are tranquil but have high BP are beyond our scope.

(D) Those who discover that they have heart disease tend to become more easily frustrated by small difficulties.

Similar to option (B), we are assuming here that those with high BP have discovered that they have high BP.

(E) The physiological factors that cause permanently high blood pressure generally make people quick to anger.

This says that other physiological factors cause both high BP and anger issues. We have weakened the argument. Not broken it, but weakened it. Conclusion is still possible but its likelihood has reduced.

Answer (E)

arushi118 · Answer

I am a bit confused as to why D is not correct. Option D is also reversing the causality according to me. Can you please explain.

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Hi arushi118 let me try to help Option D is playing in a shell essily frustrated cannot mean that they are getting angered. So it is ambiguity Also check https://gmatclub.com/forum/psychologist ... l#p2882237 Hope this helps

guddo · Answer

Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces temporary incidents of high blood pressure. A recent study further showed, however, that people who are easily angered are significantly more likely to have permanently high blood pressure than are people who have more tranquil personalities. Coupled with the long-established fact that those with permanently high blood pressure are especially likely to have heart disease, the recent findings indicate that heart disease can result from psychological factors.
 
 Which one of the following would, if true, most weaken the psychologist’s argument?

The argument concludes that  psychological factors can cause heart disease  because being easily angered is associated with permanent high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is associated with heart disease. So the best weakening answer is the one that shows the anger is not causing the high blood pressure, but instead both may come from some nonpsychological cause.

(A) Those who are easily angered are less likely to recover fully from episodes of heart disease than are other people.

This does not weaken the argument. If anything, it suggests anger may make heart problems worse.

(B) Medication designed to control high blood pressure can greatly affect the moods of those who use it.

This is not the best answer. It suggests medication can affect mood, but the argument is about whether anger leads to high blood pressure and then heart disease.

(C) People with permanently high blood pressure who have tranquil personalities virtually never develop heart disease.

This weakens the link between high blood pressure and heart disease, but it is too extreme and oddly specific. It is not as direct as showing that anger and high blood pressure may have a common physical cause.

(D) Those who discover that they have heart disease tend to become more easily frustrated by small difficulties.

This attacks the direction between heart disease and anger, but the argument’s key step is anger -> high blood pressure -> heart disease. So this does not weaken the core reasoning very much.

(E) The physiological factors that cause permanently high blood pressure generally make people quick to anger.

This is the best answer. It gives an alternative explanation: the same physical factors may cause both high blood pressure and quick anger. If so, anger may not be causing high blood pressure, and the argument for a psychological cause of heart disease is much weaker.

Answer: (E)

Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces tempo

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Psychologist: It is well known that becoming angry often induces tempo

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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