PT152 S1 Q16 ExplanationA popular complaint about abstract expressionist

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Irrelevant Comparison20% picked this

   People are better at judging the aesthetic value of a painting when they compare it

   Nothing in the argument dealt with the distinction of "judging a painting by itself vs. judging a painting by comparing to another". Would negating this become an objection? No, the author would not be bothered if people were just as good at judging the aesthetic value of a painting when they saw it alone as they were when they saw it compared to another painting.

   20%
2. B

   Correct52% picked this

   Most of the preschoolers’ paintings used in the study were not

   Why this is right

   This is a weird correct answer, but it has the attractive feature (on Necessary Assumption) of saying something was not the case. These are the moments when we're most likely to profit from trying the Negation test. If we said, "Hey, author most of the kids' paintings were aesthetically displeasing", would that be an objection? Yes, because it addresses the Relative vs. Absolute switch. It's saying, "Sure, most people in the study thought that the abstract expressionism was more pleasing than the kids' paintings, but the kids' paintings were garbage. So the study proves that abstract expressionism is more pleasing than garbage. That doesn't prove that abstract expressionism is pleasing." There would be very little chance of understanding this answer if we didn't spot the Relative vs. Absolute shift to that final conclusion.

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

   52%
3. C

   Weakens4% picked this

   Each painting shown to the participants had a label that accurately indicated whether it was an abstract expressionist

   The author would not want the paintings to have all been labeled. This is supposed to be a blind taste-test. If the people know that they're either seeing a master painter or a preschooler, that may very well alter how they see the paintings / how they rank their preferences. Our author wants a blind taste-test, where people don't know and they're just picking based on their aesthetic preference.

   4%
4. D

   Way Too Specific11% picked this

   Participants who did not consistently rate the abstract expressionist paintings as aesthetically better nonetheless rated them better

   The author doesn't need to assume anything about the minority of participants that that weren't as obviously in favor of the abstract expressionists. Sure, it would strengthen her case if they were still largely preferring the expressionists over the kids, but it's not necessary. It doesn't meaningfully hurt the argument if the participants who didn't prefer the expressionists totally preferred the kids. They are the minority either way.

   11%
5. E

   Too Strong: few similarities14% picked this

   There were few stylistic similarities between the abstract expressionist paintings that participants were shown and the preschoolers’ paintings

   Would it hurt the author's argument if there were many stylistic similarities between expressionists and the kids? No, it doesn't matter. Either way, most of the study participants thought the expressionists' were more aesthetically pleasing, and the author's conclusion is only about whether those painting are (more) aesthetically pleasing. The conclusion doesn't hinge in any way on whether the expressionists' paintings are stylistically distinct.

   14%