Logical reasoning PrepTest 142 · Section 4 · Question 7

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Argument Completion

Stimulus Summary:
Study of heart patients awaiting treatment
Group 1 Ð Still waiting to find out if they needed surgery
Group 2 Ð Knew what treatment they'd receive
Results Ð Group 1 was less likely to have related pain
Final premise Ð Group 1's uncertainty caused stress
Conclusion Ð __________

Answer Anticipation:
These Argument Completion questions tend to have conclusions/answers that bring all the details together. Here, the stimulus compares two groups. Group 1 doesn't know what treatment they'll receive and thus has more stress, but they are less likely to experience pain (both relative to Group 2).

To bring that together, we should look at the two points of comparison and relate them. If the group with less stress also had less pain, then it's reasonable to conclude that, at least in some cases, stress reduces pain or pain sensitivity.

Answer Explanation:
This answer choice relates the two points of comparison between the groups in the study. If those who are under more stress because they don't know what treatment they'll receive also have less pain, a reasonable conclusion to draw from that is that the stress—in these patients, at least—is reducing their pain.

Key Takeaway:
Argument Completion questions tend to have comparisons in the stimulus, and the correct answer generally brings everything together. Track similarities and differences raised, and then see what inference you can draw by putting them together.

Incorrect. While the pain is correlated with the patients who have lower stress, the argument establishes uncertainty as the cause of increased stress, so the pain the other group is feeling isn't causing their lower stress.

Incorrect. Two issues here. First, there's no indication that the treatment information is being withheld from Group 1—the doctors may not have enough information to make a call yet. Second, the group that didn't know what treatment they'd receive has more stress and less pain—there's no indication that either of those are a sign of a more severe condition.

Incorrect. The conclusion is conditioned on ("Assuming that . . . ") the stress being an effect of not knowing what treatment one will receive, so it's unrelated to reduced blood flow to the heart.

Incorrect. The argument doesn't relate the likelihood of needing surgery for either group—in fact, the likelihood of needing surgery may very well be equivalent between the two groups for all we know.