A university psychology department

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct91% picked this

   The members of the textbook committee were favorably influenced toward the textbook by the prospect of their department

   Why this is right

   This makes the donation at least somewhat responsible for the textbook committee’s decision. Note the degree in the conclusion, “solely for academic reasons.” This shows that is not true.

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

   91%
2. B

   Strengthen1% picked this

   The department has a long-standing policy of using only textbooks that receive the

   This makes it more likely that the academic reasons were the sole reason. Though it’s still possible that the donation motivated the textbook committee’s rating, so it barely strengthens the argument.

   1%
3. C

   Too Weak1% picked this

   In the previous year, a different textbook from the same company was used in

   While a savvy student might suspect collusion to force students to buy expensive new books, this doesn’t indicate why a different textbook was used.

   1%
4. D

   Out of Scope4% picked this

   The department chair is one of the members of the

   There is no reason to question the department chair’s motives in particular. It’s not clear that the department chair would unduly gain relative to other members of the department.

   4%
5. E

   Strengthen2% picked this

   The textbook company does not routinely make donations to academic departments that

   This weakens the correlation between a donation and deciding to use the company’s book, thereby making it more likely that academic reasons were solely responsible.

   2%