PT158 S2 Q23 ExplanationJournalist: Drivers of sport utility vehicles

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Too Strong3% picked this

   When people believe that there are several measures they could take to reduce the risk associated with a certain activity, generally they will take

   This answer introduces a condition — people believing there are "several measures they could take" to reduce risk — that does not match the journalist's reasoning. The journalist's argument is about a single form of protection (cancer cures) reducing caution, not about people having multiple risk-reduction options. Additionally, the conclusion of this principle ("most likely to take at least one of these measures") is about people adopting protective measures, not about people increasing risky behavior. The journalist's conclusion is about increased risky behavior (smoking, sun exposure), not about people being more likely to adopt protective measures. Both the trigger and the outcome of this principle mismatch the argument. The word "only" in "only when" also makes it too restrictive.

   3%
2. B

   Correct81% picked this

   The development of ways to protect people from the consequences of behaviors that would normally harm them often makes people less

   Why this is right

   This principle perfectly captures the journalist's reasoning. The principle states: developing ways to protect people from the consequences of otherwise risky behaviors tends to encourage those behaviors. This maps precisely onto both examples in the argument. SUVs protect people from consequences of risky driving (injury in accidents), and SUV drivers respond by driving less carefully (more risky behavior). Cancer cures would protect people from consequences of risky health behaviors (cancer from smoking and sun exposure), and people would respond by engaging in more of those behaviors. The principle identifies the general pattern: consequence mitigation leads to risk compensation. The key terms align perfectly — "protect people from the consequences" matches the reduced injury risk in SUVs and the potential for cancer cures, and "encourage an increase in those behaviors" matches less careful driving and increased smoking/sun exposure.

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

   81%
3. C

   Out of Scope9% picked this

   People generally take special care to avoid behaviors that they believe would likely lead to serious injury to them and generally do not take

   This principle says people take special care to avoid behaviors they believe would cause no harm at all to them. But the journalist's argument is not about behaviors that cause "no harm at all" — it is about behaviors whose harmful consequences can be mitigated or cured. Smoking with a cancer cure available still involves some harm (getting cancer, undergoing treatment); the point is that the ultimate consequence (death from cancer) is eliminated. The journalist's reasoning operates on reduced consequences, not eliminated ones. Additionally, this principle is about people being careful, while the journalist's conclusion is about people being less careful. The principle describes caution; the argument describes the abandonment of caution. Wrong direction, wrong scope.

   9%
4. D

   Out of Scope4% picked this

   People generally exercise more care when performing activities they know to have risky consequences than when performing

   This principle says people are more careful when they know an activity is risky compared to when the risk is unknown. The journalist's argument is not about known versus unknown risks — the risks of smoking and sun exposure are well known in both scenarios (with and without cancer cures). The argument is about how the availability of a cure changes behavior despite known risks. The relevant variable is consequence severity, not risk awareness. People who know SUVs are safer do not become unaware of driving risks — they simply feel less vulnerable to those risks. This principle addresses the wrong variable: awareness of risk rather than severity of consequences.

   4%
5. E

   Trap3% picked this

   Avoiding serious harm to themselves is given a high priority by people in their behavior, but avoiding lesser harms is

   Lesser Harm vs. Less Chance of Harm This principle says avoiding serious harm is a high priority in people's behavior. While superficially related to the argument's themes, this principle actually supports the opposite conclusion from what the journalist predicts. If people prioritize avoiding serious harm, and cancer cures make cancer less serious, then this principle would predict people give cancer-causing behaviors lower priority for avoidance — but the mechanism described here (prioritizing harm avoidance) is different from the one the journalist identifies (reducing caution because consequences are mitigated). More importantly, this principle describes a static priority system, while the journalist's reasoning is about dynamic behavioral change in response to changing circumstances. The principle does not capture the key insight: that protection from harm leads to increased risky behavior.

   3%