PrepTest 153

Incorrect. Two words make this wrong: "To suspects." We're not worried about biasing a suspect regarding their own guilt or innocence! If we were talking to the jury, sure, that would be a problem, but presumably the suspect already knows whether or not they did it.

Incorrect. This is a separation of powers issue, not something that matches the principle of "don't use terms that bias your audience."

Incorrect. This is more like strategic advice than an application of the "don't bias your undecided audience with slanted terminology" principle. The stimulus wasn't worried about convincing people effectively, it was worried about creating bias that prevents a good scientific result.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Illustration (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
Terms like "invasive species" make people think of uniquely human things, like citizenship and fairness. Hearing such terms might create bias in ecological research on certain species by making researchers associate them with certain human concepts. So, ecologists should avoid using human cultural terms like "invasive species."

Answer Anticipation:
Wait, so what are we supposed to call cane frogs and the like now? But that's not what we're looking for in the answer choices. Instead, we're looking for a correct parallel application of the identical principle, in other words, something that must be the correct outcome if the rule is correct. So, probably someone refraining from using a term that biases their audience.

Remember that in these parallel principle questions, the correct answer will usually apply the principle to another topic. Presence of concepts from the stimulus, like "unwanted species," in a particular answer doesn't mean it's right!

Answer Explanation:
Here's an issue of bias, and, even more exciting, it's the same kind of bias as in the stimulus: bias brought up by thinking about human concepts, which could throw off the results of some scientific testing. This is correct.

Key Takeaway:
Illustration (Principle) questions are fairly rare, but can be treated exactly like a regular Illustration: figure out the underlying principle, and state it in a quick, snappy way that doesn't depend on any particular subject matter from the stimulus. In this case "don't use terms that might bias the audience" works as a summary/paraphrase of the principle underlying the stimulus.

Incorrect. This, again, isn't about avoiding certain terms to avoid biasing the audience. It's just about whether or not such terms are correct; in this case they aren't.