Anthropologist: In a cross-cultural study, researchers examined the

Question

Anthropologist: In a cross-cultural study, researchers examined the eating habits of 150 individuals from different indigenous tribes in a particular region. Each participant was asked to rate the healthiness of their own traditional diet, and their overall satisfaction with life. Surprisingly, individuals from tribes that rated their traditional diets as the healthiest also reported the highest levels of life satisfaction. This indicates that adhering to a perceived healthy traditional diet significantly enhances overall life satisfaction.

The anthropologist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which of the following grounds?

A) It fails to consider the influence of external factors on participants' perception of their traditional diet's healthiness and its impact on life satisfaction.

B) It accounts for the possibility that the participants' understanding of a "healthy" diet may vary significantly across different tribes and cultures.

C) It relies on evidence from a single region, which may not be representative of other cultural contexts or geographical areas.

D) It overlooks the possibility that individuals may exhibit a positive bias when evaluating their life satisfaction, leading to an inflated perception of their well-being.

E) It assumes that life satisfaction among indigenous tribes solely depends on their dietary choices, overlooking other factors like community support or spiritual beliefs.

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Official Answer

D

shii002 · Answer

Extremely confused between D & E, could anyone clarify

KOHIINOOR · Answer

Answer is D optin C is not the right option though its tricky I also felt confused at that point

AnushkaTanwar · Answer

GMATNinja , help with the explanation please.

Hrley · Answer

I discarded E almost immediately because I believe life satisfaction does not have to be the "sole"/only factor related to dietary choices for one to not have a significant affect on the other.

To put it strangely numerically, let's say first that the overlooked factors said in E are no longer overlooked. Now, let's say, that dietary choices has a 60% effect on life satisfaction, and those other formerly overlooked factors now account for 40%. In this case, dietary choices can still have a "significant" impact on life satisfaction since its proportion is over 50%.

I didn't think numerically like this when I discarded E. I just explained it that way as an example for the actual reason I discarded E, which is the first sentence I wrote.

D's good because you can argue that the resulting " inflated perception of their well-being" means that they'd also subconsciously exaggerate how healthy their diet is. So, this is what I call a classic "cause-effect reversal" weakener, and it's often right. This answer, if true, would mean that a positive bias in evaluating their life satisfaction LEADS TO their perception of how healthy their traditional diet is. The argument's conclusion is the other way around.

arushi118 · Answer

C: Complains about limited scope — irrelevant as the claim was not universal. The argument’s conclusion is limited to what the study found:
“This indicates that adhering to a perceived healthy traditional diet enhances life satisfaction.”
It doesn’t say “in all cultures globally” or “universally.”

D: Points out a methodological flaw — directly weakens the argument’s reasoning.

Hence C is wrong and D is correct.

consequaturad · Answer

Answer:  A  — it’s the weakest link.
Why: the study uses  self-ratings  for both diet healthiness and life satisfaction, so outside factors (cultural pride, social cohesion, education, income, spiritual beliefs, or simply a sunny disposition) could push  both  ratings up. That would create the observed correlation without diet causing happiness. In plain English: correlation, not causation — and the anthropologist forgot to invite confounders to the party.
Quick notes on the other choices so you can stop pretending they’re equally clever:
 
  B  actually hints at a real methodological concern but says the study  accounts  for varied definitions of “healthy,” so it’s not a vulnerability. 
  C  is valid (limited generalizability) but less damaging than a mistaken causal claim inside the sample. 
  D  (positive response bias) is a narrower version of A — possible, but A covers that and more. 
  E  is true too, but A better captures the key problem: external factors could influence  both  perceived diet healthiness and life satisfaction, creating a spurious link.

PeanutButter429 · Answer

I think (D) is more undermining the measurement accuracy not the causal leap, so I disagree with it being the correct response.

(A) is a methodological quibble, and does not contradict the reasoning.

(E) is also a pretty interesting since it mentions that food isn't all there is to life satisfaction, its just that the word 'solely' was used which makes it an extreme word answer, which I makes me reluctant. But it does attack the logic behind the conclusion quite strongly

If I am not wrong, it should be between (A) and (E), just don't really know which for sure, any experts can chime in and help clarify?

Anthropologist: In a cross-cultural study, researchers examined the

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Anthropologist: In a cross-cultural study, researchers examined the

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