PrepTest 130

Incorrect. This answer connects the two parts of the premise about Griley. It doesn't connect that premise to the sufficient condition of the conditional premise that would allow the conclusion to be drawn, so it's incorrect.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise

Stimulus Summary:
Believe in democracy → High regard for wisdom of masses
Griley: Elitist who thinks pop art is probably bad art
Therefore: Griley not Believe in democracy

Answer Anticipation:
Comparing the conclusion to the premises, we can see that the conditional overlaps with that conclusion, but the shared term is negated. In order to get the premise to line up with the conclusion, we should take the contrapositive:

not High regard for wisdom of masses → not Believe in democracy

So the conclusion about Griley can be reached, as long as Griley is established to lack a high regard for the wisdom of masses. The premise about Griley, however, is just about his feelings towards pop art—that it's unlikely to be good. That concept doesn't perfectly overlap with the sufficient condition that would guarantee the conclusion, though, so we need an answer that will connect those concepts:

Believe popular taste in art is bad → not High regard for wisdom of masses

High regard for wisdom of masses → not Believe popular taste in art is bad

Answer Explanation:
Griley believes that popular artworks are unlikely to be good. This answer guarantees that he doesn't have a high regard for the wisdom of the masses. That triggers the conditional that guarantees the conclusion, so this answer is correct (and it matches our anticipation: Believe popular taste in art is bad → not High regard for wisdom of masses).

Key Takeaway:
When an argument applies a conditional, it needs to ensure that the premises actually establish that the sufficient condition is met. When it doesn't, the correct answer will likely make that connection.

Incorrect. Griley is an elitist, so this answer choice doesn't apply to him.

Incorrect. This answer connects ideas about Griley to regard for mass wisdom, so we should consider it: not High regard for wisdom of the masses → . . . but once we start diagramming it, we can see that it's going to be a reversal/negation of our anticipation.

Incorrect. This answer is a negation of the conclusion (not Believe in democracy → not High regard for wisdom of masses), so it's incorrect.