Logical reasoning PrepTest 145 · Section 2 · Question 12

Incorrect. In this case, the directors' advice is meant to prevent overconfidence, but the method is by having them not rehearse, which is neither a threat nor a weakened version of overconfidence.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Illustration (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
Vaccinations expose patients to a weak version of a disease to help prevent future illness.

Answer Anticipation:
Illustration (Principle) questions require a lot of work from us! We need to understand the scenario in the stimulus, abstract a principle from it, and then find the answer where that principle applies. So let's get started!

First, understanding the passage. This essentially explains how vaccinations work—a vaccine has a weak form of a disease, and this gets people's immune system ready to fight stronger versions of the disease. A principle that this illustrates would be something akin to:

Sometimes, exposing someone to a lesser version of a bad thing in a controlled way can protect them from a worse version of it in the future.

With that stated, let's see what answer illustrates the same principle.

Answer Explanation:
In this case, parents expose their children to a lesser version of a bad thing (treachery/cruelty) in a controlled environment (them reading) so that they're protected from a worse version in the future. This is an emotional vaccine, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
These Illustration (Principle) questions can be thought of as similar to Parallel Reasoning questions, so feel free to directly apply the stimulus to the answers to see if they match! Here, thinking of the fairy tales as "emotional vaccines" can help to solidify the selection of that answer choice.

Incorrect. This answer doesn't use a lesser fire to fight the fire, nor does it do this ahead of time, so it doesn't illustrate the same principle.

Incorrect. The goal here is to be more profitable in the future, not prevent bankruptcy, which would be the closest analogue to vaccinating against a disease.

Incorrect. Very tempting answer. However, the police aren't trying to stop the minor criminals from committing more-serious crimes, which would make this similar to the vaccine situation—it's about setting an example deterring others from committing those more-serious crimes.