It is widely believed that eating chocolate can cause acne.

Question

It is widely believed that eating chocolate can cause acne. Indeed, many people who are susceptible to acne report that, in their own experience, eating large amounts of chocolate is invariably followed by an outbreak of that skin condition. However, it is likely that common wisdom has mistaken an effect for a cause. Several recent scientific studies indicate that hormonal changes associated with stress can cause acne and there is good evidence that people who are fond of chocolate tend to eat more chocolate when they are under stress
Of the following, which one most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?

Of the following, which one most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?

(A) People are mistaken who insist that whenever they eat large amounts of chocolate they invariably suffer from an outbreak of acne,

(B) The more chocolate a person eats, the more likely that person is to experience the hormonal changes associated with stress.

(C) Eating large amounts of chocolate is more Likely to cause stress than it is to cause outbreaks of acne.

(D) It is less likely that eating large amounts of chocolate causes acne than that both the chocolate eating and the acne are caused by stress.

(E) The more stress a person experiences, the more likely that person is to crave chocolate,

Source: LSAT

sananoor · Answer

D is the right option as it says that it is less likely that chocolate causes acne but it is the stress causing acne and eating of chocolate

gmatexam439 · Answer

It is widely believed that eating chocolate can cause acne. Indeed, many people who are susceptible to acne report that, in their own experience, eating large amounts of chocolate is invariably followed by an outbreak of that skin condition. However, it is likely that common wisdom has mistaken an effect for a cause. Several recent scientific studies indicate that hormonal changes associated with stress can cause acne and there is good evidence that people who are fond of chocolate tend to eat more chocolate when they are under stress
Of the following, which one most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?

Of the following, which one most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?

(A) People are mistaken who insist that whenever they eat large amounts of chocolate they invariably suffer from an outbreak of acne,
 The argument uses the word "likely" and not "surely". This is an exaggerated choice.

(B) The more chocolate a person eats, the more likely that person is to experience the hormonal changes associated with stress. 
 This is opposite of what is stated in the argument

(C) Eating large amounts of chocolate is more Likely to cause stress than it is to cause outbreaks of acne. 
 The first part of the choice is opposite of what is stated in the passage. The choice as a whole is not supported by the argument.

(D) It is less likely that eating large amounts of chocolate causes acne than that both the chocolate eating and the acne are caused by stress.
 Correct

(E) The more stress a person experiences, the more likely that person is to crave chocolate,
 Only the people who are fond of chocolate eat one while under stress.

testcracker · Answer

hi

I am no expert, but I will try to help:

It is widely believed that chocolates cause acne, but
the main point of the argument is that it is not the chocolates but the stresses that cause acne

this point has properly been communicated in option D

hope this helps!

so cheers and keep eating chocolates

Mansoor50 · Answer

the main point of the arg is :  ...it is likely that common wisdom has mistaken an effect for a cause... 
and the author is saying that stress causes large choc intake and stress causes acne

only D lays out this clearly

Lotus1 · Answer

I strongly thought it was A. Because the main point the argument is about people being wrong about their believe of taking effect as the cause. However, could not notice that A is too confident of an answer where actual argument is neautral. Since A got all my attention, I checked off D, instead thought E was my next best choice.

guddo · Answer

It is widely believed that eating chocolate can cause acne. Indeed, many people who are susceptible to acne report that, in their own experience, eating large amounts of chocolate is invariably followed by an outbreak of that skin condition. However, it is likely that common wisdom has mistaken an effect for a cause. Several recent scientific studies indicate that hormonal changes associated with stress can cause acne and there is good evidence that people who are fond of chocolate tend to eat more chocolate when they are under stress
Of the following, which one most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?

The argument’s main point is that chocolate probably is not the cause. Instead, stress likely causes acne, and stress also makes chocolate lovers eat more chocolate, so chocolate and acne may just happen together because of a shared cause. The key idea is  a correlation is being mistaken for causation .

A. People are mistaken who insist that whenever they eat large amounts of chocolate they invariably suffer from an outbreak of acne,

The argument does not deny that these people often get acne after eating chocolate. It says that even if that pattern is real, it may be because stress causes both the eating and the acne. So this is not the main point.

B. The more chocolate a person eats, the more likely that person is to experience the hormonal changes associated with stress.

The argument does not claim chocolate leads to stress hormones. It claims stress leads to acne, and stress also leads to more chocolate eating for people who like chocolate.

C. Eating large amounts of chocolate is more Likely to cause stress than it is to cause outbreaks of acne.

The argument never says chocolate causes stress. It says stress is a likely cause of acne, and stress is linked to increased chocolate consumption.

D. It is less likely that eating large amounts of chocolate causes acne than that both the chocolate eating and the acne are caused by stress.

This matches the conclusion exactly.  It captures the argument’s claim that stress is the common cause, and that the chocolate acne link is likely not causal.

E. The more stress a person experiences, the more likely that person is to crave chocolate,

This is close to a supporting idea, but it is not the full main point. The argument’s conclusion is bigger: stress explains both increased chocolate eating and acne, which makes the chocolate acne belief likely mistaken.

Answer: (D)

guddo · Answer

I think your instinct about why (A) is tempting is right: it sounds like the argument is calling people wrong. But (A) goes further than the passage does.

The passage never says people are wrong that “after I eat a lot of chocolate, I get acne.” That observation could still be true. The passage’s point is that even if the timing pattern happens, chocolate may not be the  cause . Stress could be the cause of both.

So (A) is too strong because it rejects the reported pattern itself. The argument only rejects the causal interpretation, and (D) states that exactly: it is  less likely  chocolate causes acne than that  stress causes both .

It is widely believed that eating chocolate can cause acne.

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It is widely believed that eating chocolate can cause acne.

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

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