Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 1 · Question 25

Question prompt

When interviewing job candidates, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Bizarro / Errors in Reasoning Questions

Stimulus Summary

Job interviewers sometimes ask about hobbies. They could show enthusiasm for the job, but they could also show enthusiasm for skipping work to play.
Recommendation - Job interviewers shouldn’t ask about hobbies.

Answer Anticipation

Outside of being a bit weird in that it’s a Bizarro Errors in Reasoning question, this question stem has another wrinkle to it - it specifically asks about possibilities the argument overlooks. As such, we want to phrase our anticipation around that.
What does that mean? Well, the conclusion is that hiring managers shouldn’t ask about hobbies, so we want to find answers that the argument overlooks in recommending against that - in other words, we want answers that highlight reasons that one might want to ask about hobbies.
We’ve made it this far without even talking about the premises here! And we have a pretty solid anticipation. That said, we probably should anticipate some answers related to the premises. The reason that the argument believes interviewers shouldn’t ask about hobbies is that they may highlight a desire to play instead of work. So any answer that calls that into question would also serve to highlight something the argument overlooks.
Let’s head to the answers finding any that bring up a reason to ask about hobbies.

Answer choices

  1. A
    A candidate's involvement in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    This answer brings up information relevant to a hiring manager that could be gained by asking about hobbies, so it brings up something the argument overlooks. We can thus eliminate it in this Bizarro question.

  2. B
    Candidates who have no Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    This brings up a possibility that would make the question pointless - the hiring manager wouldn’t get any useful information from a candidate who makes up a hobby. Since this possibility is one that lines up with the recommendation, it’s not something the argument overlooks, and it is thus correct.

  3. C
    Inquiries about a hobby Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer brings up a reason for hiring managers to ask about hobbies - to get better info on other questions. As such, it’s something the argument overlooks in recommending against asking about hobbies.

  4. D
    Having certain kinds of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer brings up information relevant to a hiring manager that could be gained by asking about hobbies. As such, it’s something the argument overlooks in recommending against asking about hobbies.

  5. E
    Personnel managers may make Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer doesn’t tie a question specifically about hobbies to getting useful information, but it does establish that restrictions against any type of question - including those about hobbies - makes for worse choices. As such, this answer provides a reason to allow asking about hobbies, and it is therefore something the argument overlooks.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 8%
  2. B Credited 69%
  3. C 7%
  4. D 7%
  5. E 9%

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