Logical Reasoning

PT149 · S3 · Q17 When a chain of service stations

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When a chain of service stations began applying a surcharge of $0.25 per purchase on fuel paid for by credit card, the chain’s owners found that this policy made their customers angry.

Situation

1st move: $0.25 surcharge if you paid for gas with a credit card

Aftermath: the customers were angry

2nd move: raised the price of gas by $0.25, and then offered a $0.25 discount if you pay by cash.

Aftermath: the customers were happier

Evaluate

Lots of Proposition / Generalization situations deal with a before / after that seems to suggest a Causal Difference-Maker.

Why were customers angry with the first system and happy with the second one?

It seems like customers are willing to pay whatever price is posted, but if they're suddenly surprised by a surcharge they get angry. Obviously, if cash-paying customers are suddenly surprised by a discount they won't be angry.

Goal

Look for a safely worded answer reflecting the idea that people paying with credit cards are happier to pay the same price if it's built into the price of gas rather than added as a surcharge.

17.

Which one of the following generalizations does the situation described above most clearly illustrate?

  1. People usually adopt beliefs without

    Out of Scope

    Out of Scope: adopt beliefs Too Strong: usually It's not an automatic dealbreaker for an answer to generalize from one situation to generally, but it's a big red flag. What truly kills this answer is the fact the passage never talks about people "adopting beliefs" at all.

    0% picked this

  2. People’s perceptions of the fairness

    No Distinction: benefits them personally

    We're trying to explain the difference between paying $50.00 for gas with a $0.25 surcharge, and paying $50.25 for gas. Credit card customers were angry at the former but fine with the latter. Since they're paying the same total price either way ($50.25), the difference can't be a matter of "one system benefited them personally more than the other".

    6% picked this

  3. People usually become emotional when

    No Distinction

    No Distinction: financial issues Too Strong: usually We're trying to explain the difference between paying $50.00 for gas with a $0.25 surcharge, and paying $50.25 for gas. Credit card customers were angry (emotional) at the former but fine with the latter. Since both situations involve dealing with financial issues, we can't say that they got emotional in the former case because it dealt with financial issues.

    0% picked this

  4. People often change their minds

    Out of Scope

    Out of Scope: don't make big difference The situation described was about gas prices. Is that an "issue that doesn't make a significant difference to their lives"? Who knows? We didn't talk about anything like that. For many people on tight budgets, the price of gas does make a significant difference to their lives. This answer also insinuates that credit card users went from angry to happier just because they "changed their minds", not because the gas stations changed their policies.

    1% picked this

  5. Correct

    People’s evaluations of a situation

    Why this is right

    We're trying to explain the difference between paying $50.00 for gas with a $0.25 surcharge, and paying $50.25 for gas. Credit card customers were angry at the former but fine with the latter. Since they're paying the same total price either way ($50.25), the only difference is in how the price is presented to them. Is it presented as "the normal price of gas + a surcharge" or is it presented as "the normal price of gas"? The credit card payers evaluated the former presentation angrily and the latter presentation more happily.

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

    93% picked this

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