Logical Reasoning

PT106 · S2 · Q8 The symptoms of mental disorders

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The symptoms of mental disorders are behavioral, cognitive, or emotional problems.

Conclusion

These patients whose mental disorders result from chemical imbalances can be effectively treated only with medication that will reduce or correct the imbalance.

Evidence

In some patients mental disorders result from chemical imbalances affecting the brain.

Evaluate

There's not really much of a premise here, is there? The first two sentences are really providing background or counterpoint. The symptoms of mental disorders include behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problems (all of which sound psychological in nature).

And some mental disorders are effectively treated with psychotherapy. But the author seems to think that a chemically-caused case of mental disorder has to be treated chemically (i.e. with drugs / medicines / chemicals).

He must be assuming that the type of cause dictates the type of treatment: if your MD is caused by X, then it can only be treated by something similar in form to X.

Goal

Look for an answer showing the author's move: if it's caused by a chemical imbalance, then it can only be fixed by chemically balancing it.

Or an answer that rules out some objection about alternative possible treatments: Patients with mental disorders from chemical imbalances can not be effectively treated with psychotherapy as well.

8.

The argument depends on assuming which one of the following?

  1. Correct

    Treatment by psychotherapy can produce

    Why this is right

    By concluding that "only chemical meds will work", the author is assuming that every other possible treatment will not be an effective treatment. If we negate the correct answer, it should turn into an objection. NEGATION: treatment by psychotherapy can produce an effective reduction in / correction of the chemical imbalance that causes mental disorders. This would definitely be an objection, because it would be saying that psychotherapy is capable of the same fix that the author thinks we need medication for. If psychotherapy is also an effective treatment, then that ruins the author's conclusion that "only medication can reduce/correct the imbalance".

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

    89% picked this

  2. Treatment with medication always shows

    Too Strong: always

    The author doesn't have to think that in 100% of cases, medication is faster than psychotherapy. He's only claiming that medication is a superior option (the only option is by definition the best option) when it comes to patients whose medical disorders are caused by chemical imbalances.

    1% picked this

  3. Most mental disorders are not

    Too Specific: most

    The word "most" is wrong 99.9% of the time you see it in Necessary Assumption. The author almost never needs something to be true 51% of the time, as opposed to 49% of the time. Does it make any difference to this author whether 55% of mental disorders are caused by chemical imbalances vs. whether 45% of them are caused by chemical imbalances? No, it wouldn't affect the argument whether it's most or not-most, since the author is only arguing that for this subset of patients (whatever proportion they are), the only effective treatment is medication.

    2% picked this

  4. Medication is always more effective

    Too Strong: "always"

    This is basically the same as (B). One said faster, one said more effective. Neither one is necessary, because the author isn't saying that medication is better / faster in 100% of cases. She's just saying it's better (in fact it's the only option) for cases that arise from chemical imbalances (which is just a subset of all patients with mental disorders).

    5% picked this

  5. Treatment with psychotherapy has no

    Too Strong: no effect

    Will it affect the author's argument one way or the other if psychotherapy not only reduces symptoms of your mental disorder, but also allows you to have a more civil conversation with your estranged father? Of course not. The author's argument isn't affected one way or the other by whether psychotherapy has more than one effect on people. The only thing the author is assuming in regards to psychotherapy is that it's not an option for effectively treating people whose mental disorder is chemically caused.

    2% picked this

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