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Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
59% (01:21) correct
41%
(01:33)
wrong
based on 1000
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Father: When my son was first caught lying, I was alarmed. Although I punished him adequately for his behavior, I noticed subsequently that lying was becoming a habit with him. It seems that my punishment actually led him to lie more.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn by the father?
A. On all other instances, the boy was found to correct his behavior after adequate punishment.
B. The boy did not lie within the first week of the punishment.
C. The father was so alarmed that he observed his son more closely than ever before.
D. The boy responded as expected to the punishment but its effect wore off with time, as is the case with many children.
E. Punishments do not generally work with children with behavioral problems as children need to be handled more gently in such cases.
Source : Expert Global
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn by the father?
A. On all other instances, the boy was found to correct his behavior after adequate punishment.
B. The boy did not lie within the first week of the punishment.
C. The father was so alarmed that he observed his son more closely than ever before.
D. The boy responded as expected to the punishment but its effect wore off with time, as is the case with many children.
E. Punishments do not generally work with children with behavioral problems as children need to be handled more gently in such cases.
Source : Expert Global
madhukaramar
Joined: 25 Jan 2018
Last visit: 23 Feb 2021
Posts: 48
Location: United States (IL)
Concentration: Strategy, Operations
WE:Business Development (Other)
Posts: 48
Father: When my son was first caught lying, I was alarmed. Although I punished him adequately for his behavior, I noticed subsequently that lying was becoming a habit with him. It seems that my punishment actually led him to lie more.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn by the father?
A. On all other instances, the boy was found to correct his behavior after adequate punishment.
B. The boy did not lie within the first week of the punishment.
C. The father was so alarmed that he observed his son more closely than ever before.
D. The boy responded as expected to the punishment but its effect wore off with time, as is the case with many children.
E. Punishments do not generally work with children with behavioral problems as children need to be handled more gently in such cases.
Source : Expert Global
c is the correct Answer - So the child was not lying more , but father was giving more attention -
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn by the father?
A. On all other instances, the boy was found to correct his behavior after adequate punishment.
B. The boy did not lie within the first week of the punishment.
C. The father was so alarmed that he observed his son more closely than ever before.
D. The boy responded as expected to the punishment but its effect wore off with time, as is the case with many children.
E. Punishments do not generally work with children with behavioral problems as children need to be handled more gently in such cases.
Source : Expert Global
c is the correct Answer - So the child was not lying more , but father was giving more attention -
A - proves that the father's conclusion is incorrect
Sent from my Moto G (4) using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
Sent from my Moto G (4) using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
Aish94
Although Ans is C. If any specific question pls Post. I would love to help you.
AdityaHongunti
Joined: 20 Sep 2016
Last visit: 31 Mar 2021
Posts: 527
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Operations
GPA: 3.6
WE:Operations (Consumer Packaged Goods)
Posts: 527
aragonn
i marked C. but want to know on what terms do we eliminate D
deveshj21
Joined: 06 Aug 2018
Last visit: 17 Jun 2026
Posts: 77
Schools: Desautels '23 (S)
GMAT 1: 600 Q43 V30
GMAT 2: 690 Q49 V35
DEAR EXPERT,
PLEASE TELL ME WHY OPTION C IS INCORRECT.
PLEASE TELL ME WHY OPTION C IS INCORRECT.
deveshj21
Option C is correct.
Here is the video explanation-
All the best!
Experts' Global team
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AdityaHongunti
D. The boy responded as expected to the punishment but its effect wore off with time, as is the case with many children.
This says that the effect of punishment wore of. If that is true, then the lying would not have increased. It would have remained at the same level. Like the illness can come back after medicine wears off but unless there is something more systemic, it won't go higher than before.
ragnarok13
Joined: 15 Oct 2019
Last visit: 31 Jul 2026
Posts: 27
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 615 Q80 V84 DI77
GMAT Focus 2: 655 Q88 V84 DI76
GMAT Focus 2: 655 Q88 V84 DI76
Posts: 27
@ GMATNinjaTwo @ GMATNinja Option C : just because the father observed him more frequently doesnt necessarily indicate that the father's observation of the child lying more was wrong. The child could actually be lying more irrespective of observation
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,003
Yeah, that's an excellent point. This question could use some fine-tuning. Specifically, there's a difference between "After X, I noticed Y" and "After X, I noticed that Y was becoming a pattern." In the former case, C might make sense--just because you noticed Y after X, that doesn't mean Y wasn't already going on before. However, the latter case implies that there was in fact a clear pattern that wasn't there before. In that case, the degree of observation doesn't much matter. After all, we accept the premises as true!
Also, a real CR should not be in the first person or be about personal matters. If you see a CR question that uses "I" or "my," skip it and look for something more GMAT-like!
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Also, a real CR should not be in the first person or be about personal matters. If you see a CR question that uses "I" or "my," skip it and look for something more GMAT-like!
ragnarok13
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ragnarok13
Joined: 15 Oct 2019
Last visit: 31 Jul 2026
Posts: 27
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 615 Q80 V84 DI77
GMAT Focus 2: 655 Q88 V84 DI76
GMAT Focus 2: 655 Q88 V84 DI76
Posts: 27
Thanks a lot! 
Will keep this aspect in mind while approaching the CR questions.
Will keep this aspect in mind while approaching the CR questions.DmitryFarber
Posts: 11
Hello, so this is a Gmat style cause effect question. Conclusion is punishment caused him to lie more i.e. (punishment → more lies). Now to weaken a causal argument, we need to find either an alternative cause or reverse the causality. So, here Option C rightly does that.It says, it's the father who observes more (so we now have an alternate cause to observing more lies coz maybe he did lie the same no of times before, but the father didn't observe keenly initially ).
Hope it Helps!!!!!
Hope it Helps!!!!!
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