Zeta Manufacturing, a producer of low-cost chairs and tables, plans to start production on a more expensive line of furniture. The company’s research shows that consumers are currently reluctant to purchase products made by Zeta Manufacturing because of concerns about the products’ quality. The company is certain that selling a more expensive line will alleviate these concerns.

Which of the following is an assumption that lies behind Zeta Manufacturing’s decision to produce a more expensive line of furniture?


A. Consumers believe that items that are equal in quality are equal in cost.

B. Consumers make a connection between the cost of a product and its quality.

C. Consumers are less attracted to low cost than they are to high quality.

D. Companies increase their profitability when they sell more expensive products.

E. People expect to purchase furniture infrequently because furniture is durable
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OA: B
Premise :The company’s research shows that consumers are currently reluctant to purchase products made by Zeta Manufacturing because of concerns about the products’ quality
Conclusion : The company is certain that selling a more expensive line will alleviate these concerns.

Assumption should link Quality with Expensive i.e price
Option B fits this requirement
Assumption: Consumers make a connection between the cost of a product and its quality.

KAPLAN OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Correct Choice: (B)

The conclusion is set off by the words “The company is certain that . . “. The rest of the paragraph is the evidence. The assumption that links evidence to conclusion is that the greater cost of the new furniture will make consumers think that it is of greater quality. At no point does the paragraph state that the new product line will actually be of greater quality. (B) sums up this assumption.

Choice (A) is too extreme. Although the argument assumes that consumers think that more-expensive furniture has more quality, there’s no reason to think that consumers believe that there is an exact one-to-one correspondence as rigid as (A) claims.

Choice (C) says consumers favor one characteristic (high quality) over another (low cost), but we are given no reason to believe this. The company is having problems because consumers don’t feel that its low-cost line has a lot of quality, from which it can be inferred that consumers want lost-cost chairs and tables to have at least some quality—but there’s nothing in the paragraph about one being more important than the other.

Choice (D) may or may not be true, but it’s not an assumption in this argument. The company is going to charge more in order to give an impression of quality, not simply to have a greater profit per item.

Choice (E) may be tempting, because it appears to connect with concerns about quality, but there’s nothing in the text to support that idea that consumers care about quality because they want their furniture to last for a long time.
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I am not able to understand why A is too extreme.

My reasoning is that if consumers believe that items that are equal in quality are equal in cost, they will look at the factor of items price. What I mean to say is if I am a consumer who believes that items that are equal in quality are also equal in cost, I'll relate quality with the price tag. The higher the price the better quality product. And if I negate this option I get Consumers don't believe that items that are equal in quality are equal in cost that means consumers don't make any connection between price and quality.

Kindly help I am not able to understand and think that there is some connection that I am not able to make.