The symptoms of mental disorders

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct89% picked this

   Treatment by psychotherapy can produce no effective reduction in or correction of chemical imbalances that

   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%
2. B

   Too Strong: always1% picked this

   Treatment with medication always shows faster results for patients with mental disorders than does

   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%
3. C

   Too Specific: most2% picked this

   Most mental disorders are not the result of chemical imbalances affecting

   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%
4. D

   Too Strong: "always"6% picked this

   Medication is always more effective in treating patients with mental disorders

   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).

   6%
5. E

   Too Strong: no effect2% picked this

   Treatment with psychotherapy has no effect on mental disorders other than a reduction

   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%