Psychologists observing a shopping mall parking lot found that

Question

Psychologists observing a shopping mall parking lot found that, on average, drivers spent 39 seconds leaving a parking space when another car was quietly waiting to enter it, 51 seconds if the driver of the waiting car honked impatiently, but only 32 seconds leaving a space when no one was waiting. This suggests that drivers feel possessive of their parking spaces even when leaving them, and that this possessiveness increases in reaction to indications that another driver wants the space.

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the reasoning?

(A) The more pressure most drivers feel because others are waiting for them to perform maneuvers with their cars, the less quickly they are able to perform them.
 (B) The amount of time drivers spend entering a parking space is not noticeably affected by whether other drivers are waiting for them to do so, nor by whether those other drivers are honking impatiently.
 (C) It is considerably more difficult and timeconsuming for a driver to maneuver a car out of a parking space if another car waiting to enter that space is nearby.
 (D) Parking spaces in shopping mall parking lots are unrepresentative of parking spaces in general with respect to the likelihood that other cars will be waiting to enter them.
 (E) Almost any driver leaving a parking space will feel angry at another driver who honks impatiently, and this anger will influence the amount of time spent leaving the space.

bronaugust · Accepted Answer

Hi,  Spectre26 .

To solve this question, let us deploy  IMS's four-step technique .

STEP #1   ->  IDENTIFY THE QUESTION TYPE

Let us read the question stem to identify the question type.
 
The stem indicates a  weakening  question.

STEP #2   ->  X-RAY THE ARGUMENT

In a  weakening  question, it is a must to x-ray the argument and deconstruct it. Let us therefore read the argument first and note the conclusion and the premise after.
 
 AUTHOR'S POSITION/CONCLUSION:  The possessiveness of the driver leaving a parking space increases in reaction to indications that another driver wants the space.

OBSERVATION/PREMISE:  Psychologists observing a shopping mall parking lot found that, on average, drivers spent 39 seconds leaving a parking space when another car was quietly waiting to enter it, 51 seconds if the driver of the waiting car honked impatiently, but only 32 seconds leaving a space when no one was waiting.

REASONING/ASSUMPTION:  The more drivers feel possessive of their parking space, the longer they take to leave it.

STEP #3   ->  FRAME A SHADOW ANSWER

The correct answer must weaken the reasoning, and an effective way to do so would be to present a situation that shows that it is not possessiveness that has an effect on the time drivers take while leaving a parking space.

SHADOW ANSWER:  An option that indicates that it is not possessiveness that has an effect on the time that drivers take while leaving a parking space.

STEP #4   ->  ELIMINATE INCORRECT OPTIONS

Options that do not match the shadow answer can be eliminated.

(A) The more pressure most drivers feel because others are waiting for them to perform maneuvers with their cars, the less quickly they are able to perform them. |  MATCHES THE SHADOW ANSWER  |  This option introduces a different cause for the time taken: pressure. It suggests that it is not possessiveness but the pressure felt by drivers when others are waiting that affects the time they take to leave a parking space. Notice that this option indicates that increased pressure slows down drivers’ maneuvering and thereby explains the observation of the psychologists.  |  KEEP

(B) The amount of time drivers spend entering a parking space is not noticeably affected by whether other drivers are waiting for them to do so, nor by whether those other drivers are honking impatiently. |  NOT A MATCH  |  Not worried about the amount of time taken by drivers while  entering  a parking space.  |  ELIMINATE

(C) It is considerably more difficult and time-consuming for a driver to maneuver a car out of a parking space if another car waiting to enter that space is nearby.  NOT A MATCH  |  Not worried about whether the car waiting to enter is  near or far .  |  ELIMINATE

(D) Parking spaces in shopping mall parking lots are unrepresentative of parking spaces in general with respect to the likelihood that other cars will be waiting to enter them. |  NOT A MATCH  |  Whether or not parking spaces in shopping mall lots are representative of parking spaces in general in terms of how likely it is for other cars to be waiting does not help us rule out the idea that possessiveness has an effect on the time that drivers take while leaving a parking space.  |  ELIMINATE

(E) Almost any driver leaving a parking space will feel angry at another driver who honks impatiently, and this anger will influence the amount of time spent leaving the space. |  This option says anger influences the amount of time spent but does not say whether the time spent actually goes up or down. If anger actually decreases the time spent, it does not give us any reason to disbelieve that possessiveness does not impact the time taken by drivers while they leave a parking space.  |  ELIMINATE

Hence, (A) is the correct answer.

Spectre26 · Answer

Can you share the official explanation ?

Thanks

TheVDR · Answer

We are given the following average times for people leaving a parking space :

32 seconds - when alone
39 seconds - when someone is waiting quietly
51 seconds - when someone is waiting not-so-quietly

The reason given for this trend is that there is some sort of residual possessiveness for the parking space and this increases as per the above trends.

We need to find an answer that explains the timing trend but says that it isn’t the possessiveness for the parking space but something else.

A) Seems like a good explanation. Says it isn’t the possessiveness but the performance pressure that holds the driver. Makes sense.

B) This means time (alone) should be equal to time (someone waiting quietly), which isn’t the case

C) This means time (some waiting quietly) should be equal to time (someone honking while waiting), which isn’t the case

D) This doesn’t mean anything in context of our question

E) Again, alike B, this should mean that time time (alone) should be equal to time (someone waiting quietly) and only time (honking) should increase significantly, which isn’t the case

I’d go with Option (A).

agrasan · Answer

Hi  KarishmaB   MartyMurray   IanStewart

(C) It is considerably more difficult and time-consuming for a driver to maneuver a car out of a parking space if another car waiting to enter that space is nearby

Can you please explain why (C) is wrong? My reasoning was that (C) brings an alternative explanation and it is natural that car will be  "nearby"  only when it is about to get parked. 
Could you help with the reasoning to eliminate (C)?

Thanks.

guddo · Answer

A

The data can be explained without “possessiveness.” If having someone wait, and especially honk, simply makes drivers feel pressured and therefore maneuver more slowly, then the longer exit times reflect stress and reduced performance, not increased possessiveness about the space.

guddo · Answer

(C) does not fit the data pattern.

(C) says the slowdown happens because the waiting car is nearby and physically makes it harder to pull out. If that were the main reason, then the “quietly waiting” case and the “honking” case should be about the same, because the car is nearby in both. But the times are very different: 39 seconds when quiet versus 51 seconds when honking. A physical obstruction explanation does not explain the extra delay caused by honking.

(A) does: honking adds pressure and distraction, which can slow the maneuver beyond the baseline “someone is waiting” effect.

agrasan · Answer

Thanks  guddo

Do you mean (C) contradicts the fact given on timings in the argument?

guddo · Answer

Exactly. (C) is a physical “car nearby makes it harder” explanation. But the car is nearby in both waiting cases, so (C) would predict similar times for “quiet” and “honking.” The data shows a big gap (39 vs 51), so (C) does not match the pattern

KarishmaB · Answer

(C) doesn't fully explain the data while (A) does. If the problem was 'less space to  maneuver a car out of a parking space,' then 39 vs 32 secs is explained. But the 51 sec pattern is not explained. It is the same car at the same spot. Why does honking make it worse.  
 So could there be some other reason? Option (A) explains both 39 and 51 patterns.

(A): "more pressure to perform maneuvers leads to more time taken to perform them"

Exactly what we see. No pressure - 32 secs. Little pressure - 39 secs, Lot of pressure - 51 secs

Alexdb10 · Answer

Personally Surprised that more people didn't select B.

Disregarded as it ultimately compared two different actions firstly, and secondly the stimuli states:  "This Suggests drivers feel possessive of their parking spaces even when leaving them"  whereas B talks of entering the space.

miag · Answer

Hi,

Your instinct about B is actually on the right track.
The conclusion of the argument is about drivers leaving parking spaces and what that behavior suggests psychologically. B does not offer an alternative explanation for the increased time spent leaving the space. 
A) on the other hand directly attacks the causal argument in the conclusion.

Hope this helps!

Psychologists observing a shopping mall parking lot found that

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Psychologists observing a shopping mall parking lot found that

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