PrepTest 138

Incorrect. The sample is about parents; the conclusion is about parents. There's no sampling shift here.

Incorrect. The opinion of the kids is out of scope—just the educational value, and the views of the parents and the educational psychologists.

Incorrect. The conclusion is about the educational value of the shows, not whether parents should let their kids watch them, so this answer is out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Study - Parents rate the kids shows they enjoy the most as being the most educational without considering what psychologists think
Conclusion - If the psychologists know what they're doing, parents shouldn't trust their own judgment

Answer Anticipation:
Let's start with the fact that this argument features a study, so we should consider a sampling flaw and a correlation/causation flaw.

For the sampling flaw, the sample is noted as being of parents, and the conclusion is about parents, so there's no reason to believe that it's an unrepresentative sample. For the correlation/causation flaw, there's no causal conclusion or assumption, so that's not present, either.

So we'll have to look elsewhere for the error in reasoning! And there's another feature of this argument that suggests a specific flaw—experts are relied on crucially, so there might be an inappropriate appeal to authority. However, not only are educational psychologists seemingly the ones you'd want to consult on the educational value of kids TV shows, the conclusion is also based on the condition that their views are sound, so this flaw isn't present either.

Any other features we can analyze? Yep! The argument compares the views of the psychologists to those of parents. We know that the parents' views as to the educational value is based on their enjoyment of the shows, and the psychologists are presumably basing them on educational principles. Does that justify the conclusion that the parents shouldn't use their own ratings? Not if they agree with the psychologists! It's possible that the views of the two groups—even though they're based on different considerations—are the same, and thus the parents don't need to consult the psychologists—they can trust their own ratings.

Answer Explanation:
This answer highlights that the argument assumes the views of the two groups mentioned differ. It's possible that the parents and educational psychologists come to the same conclusions, in which case parents can trust their own ratings.

Key Takeaway:
While certain features of arguments are associated with certain errors in reasoning, their presence doesn't guarantee that flaw—you have to dig in deeper. Don't be frustrated if you think about a flaw that doesn't end up being present—there's a good chance that it'll be an incorrect answer and you can now eliminate that more quickly!

Incorrect. The argument assumes that educational psychologists are better able to judge the educational value of kids' TV shows than parents are, but not that they're better than everyone else ("the only").