Logical Reasoning

PT106 · S1 · Q23 Further evidence of a connection

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Further evidence of a connection between brain physiology and psychological states has recently been uncovered in the form of a correlation between electroencephalograph patterns and characteristic moods.

Conclusion

One's general disposition is a result of the activity of one's frontal lobe.

Evidence

In a study, they found a correlation between left frontal lobe activity and your general mood. Happy people had more left lobe activity; sadder people had less left frontal action.

Evaluate

Since the author is interpreting a correlation, we could weaken by thinking of other ways to explain this data.

Why else can we say that good-natured people have more left activity and more depressed people have left less left lobe activity?

Given this EKG correlation between left frontal lobe and general mood, is it a safe leap to the idea that ?

No, it seems pretty leap-y. We expand from talking about characteristic mood to talking about general disposition. And instead of saying that frontal lobe has some influence, it goes as far as to say disposition is the result of frontal lobe activity.

Goal

Any time the author is interpreting data, and we have this Curious Fact / Explanation template, we want to Weaken by either - suggesting an alternate way to explain [why there's a correlation between happy/sad and high/low left frontal lobe activity]

- making the author's way seem less plausible by undermining the idea that disposition is (purely) a result of your frontal lobe.

23.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

  1. Correct

    Many drugs prescribed to combat

    Why this is right

    Correct - helps plausibility of author's way This actually strengthens the argument. The author is selling us on the idea that your frontal lobe activity determines your disposition. If you have higher left frontal lobe, you're happy. If you have lower left frontal lobe, you're sad. Learning that drugs that try to take you from sadder to happier work by taking your left frontal lobe activity from lower to higher reinforces the author's thinking. (The correct answer on Weaken EXCEPT doesn't have to strengthen, it can just be irrelevant)

    Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    54% picked this

  2. Excessive sleep, a typical consequence

    Weakens - different way to explain

    This provides a classic Reverse Causality storyline for our correlation between frontal lobe activity and characteristic mood: the frontal lobe level doesn't lead to the happy/depressed; it actually goes the other way around. If you're depressed, you sleep too much, and that lowers your left lobe activity.

    8% picked this

  3. Frontal lobe activity is not

    Trap

    Weakens - hurts plausibility of author's way This badly undermines the author's conclusion. How can X be a result of Y if X doesn't vary as much as Y does Like if we said "your LSAT score is a result of how many hours you slept the previous night", we would make that causal claim seem way less plausible if we said "LSAT scores stay roughly the same, even when there's great variation in number of hours slept the previous night". Causality is supported by data with covariance. When the cause is present, the effect is present. When the cause is absent, the effect is absent. If general disposition changes 30 times throughout the day, whereas frontal lobe activity only changes like 5 times, then it doesn't quite seem like disposition is the result of frontal lobe activity. After all, it disposition changed way more times than frontal lobe did.

    18% picked this

  4. Earlier studies indicated that frontal

    Weakens - different way to explain

    This provides a classic Third Factor storyline for our correlation between frontal lobe activity and characteristic mood: the frontal lobe level doesn't lead to the happy/depressed; they are both symptoms of something else! When your limbic system fluctuates, it causes your frontal lobe activity and your emotive states (characteristic mood) to change. So frontal lobe activity and emotive states are correlated because they're both symptoms of what's happening in the limbic system. It's a thrilling end to any detective novel --- the limbic system did it!

    12% picked this

  5. Social interaction of the kind

    Weakens - different way to explain

    This provides a classic Reverse Causality storyline for our correlation between frontal lobe activity and characteristic mood: the frontal lobe level doesn't lead to the happy/depressed; it actually goes the other way around. If you're depressed, you don't socialize as much, and since socializing raises everyone's left lobe activity, the depressed people have lower left lobe activity than the socializing happy people.

    7% picked this

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