Logical reasoning PrepTest 114 · Section 4 · Question 19

Incorrect. Wanting and failing to get a wider circle of friends isn't necessarily related to the underlying problem of loneliness—even if you have fewer friends than you'd like, you can still not be lonely.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Necessary Premise

Stimulus Summary:
Problem - Some teenagers are shy and lonely
Solution - Pick up a hobby and make friends through it
Problem with solution - If they stop the hobby, they may be even lonelier
Conclusion - The solution isn't a successful one

Answer Anticipation:
This argument falls into a common pattern that we can use to help ourselves understand it—a problem is presented along with a solution. Here, the author then goes on to discuss a problem with the solution and reach a conclusion about its effectiveness—in short, it's not a successful strategy.

Whenever an argument makes a judgment in the conclusion—such as here, when it says that a strategy "is not successful"—it needs to define what makes a solution successful. When there's a problem/solution structure, it's implied—a successful solution resolves the problem.

Here, it's noted that picking up a hobby does solve the problem for kids who stick with the hobby, or even short-term for those who leave it. However, the issue is that it may make the problem—loneliness—worse in some cases (those who leave the hobby "may" have their loneliness exacerbated).

Since it's unclear whether the potential for having the problem get worse means that the strategy that in some cases, at least short-term, resolves the problem is not successful, the correct answer should establish that.

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes criteria for being an unsuccessful strategy that the development of a hobby meets. If a successful strategy for overcoming loneliness can intensify that loneliness, then there's no longer a reason to believe that developing that all-consuming hobby is an unsuccessful strategy, and the argument falls apart.

Key Takeaway:
Whenever an argument reaches a judgment (e.g., something is/isn't successful) in the conclusion, it needs to establish the criteria by which that judgment can be made. That can be done by establishing a problem to be solved, but if it relies on that, then it needs a clear definition of what would resolve the problem. Here, it failed to establish if a solution that didn't always work is thus unsuccessful.

Incorrect. The argument doesn't care why these adolescents might lose interest in their hobbies, just the impact on their loneliness if they do lose that interest.

Incorrect. There being another, more successful strategy doesn't speak to whether the given strategy is successful. There doesn't need to be a successful strategy for a problem—it might be unresolvable.

Incorrect. Why they devote themselves to the hobby isn't relevant to whether it is successful in achieving a goal. The shy teens could develop the hobby to distract themselves and still find friends, or they could develop the interest to make friends and fail to do so. Motive doesn't determine outcome!