Logical reasoning PrepTest 156 · Section 2 · Question 22

This is very tempting! But there's definitely a red flag in this answer choice: the weak, wishy-washy language ("some") that we don't like in Weaken questions. Before we select (A), we need to address that language.

Notice how the researcher's conclusion says that we "tend" to remember frightening experiences more clearly? That means we usually remember those experiences more clearly. It doesn't mean that we always remember those experiences better. So, there could be some situations when we don't remember intense experiences — like some very frightening experiences — very clearly. Even then, it could still be true that we usually remember frightening experiences more clearly than nonfrightening ones. So, this answer choice is too weak to meaningfully affect the argument.

Moreover, this answer choice doesn't even establish that these memory-impeding intense experiences are frightening. These intense experiences could be intensely joyful experiences, which would strengthen the researcher's argument.

This doesn't weaken the argument. This tells us which details someone will most likely remember in a given situation. The researcher's conclusion, however, is about which situations someone is most likely to remember. Even if we tend to remember details related to our desires when we look back on a specific situation, we could still remember situations where we were scared more clearly than situations where we weren't. For instance, you might remember the time you nearly got in a car accident while driving to get a sandwich you wanted much better than an uneventful drive to get a sandwich, even if you most clearly remember eating the sandwich in both memories.

As expected, this answer choice weakens the argument by showing that our bodies can produce adrenaline in nonfrightening experiences. If highly pleasurable experiences also increase adrenaline levels, then we'll tend to remember highly pleasurable experiences quite clearly. Therefore, we'll be less convinced by the researcher's conclusion that we tend to remember frightening experiences more clearly than nonfrightening experiences. We might remember highly pleasurable, nonfrightening experiences as clearly as frightening ones!

Because this answer choice conforms to our anticipation, we'd be justified in selecting (C) and giving the remaining options a quick check.

This doesn't weaken the researcher's argument. In fact, it may strengthen it. If there are very few frightening experiences, their rarity might make them more memorable. Unlike the more common and pedestrian nonfrightening experiences, the frightening experiences would stick out in our minds. So, in addition to producing adrenaline, frightening experiences would be memorable because they're unique. Rather than weaken the researcher's argument, this answer choice gives us more reason to believe that we'll remember frightening experiences more clearly.

This is consistent with the researcher's conclusion. Whether an experience is "frightening," after all, is subjective. It's OK that people don't think all objectively dangerous situations are frightening and don't remember them very clearly. As long as the experiences individuals actually perceive as frightening increase adrenaline levels (and the experiences that individuals don't see as frightening don't increase adrenaline levels), the researcher can draw this conclusion.