Critical Reasoning

Cable-television spokesperson: Subscriptions to cable television are a bargain in comparison to "free" television. Remember that "free" television is not really free. It is consumers, in the end, who pay for the costly advertising that supports "free" television. Which of the following, if true, is most damaging to the position of the cable-television spokesperson?

(A) Consumers who do not own television sets are less likely to be influenced in their purchasing decisions by television advertising than are consumers who own television sets.
(B) Subscriptions to cable television include access to some public-television channels, which do not accept advertising.
(C) For locations with poor television reception, cable television provides picture quality superior to that provided by free television.
(D) There is as much advertising on many cable television channels as there is on "free" television channels.
(E) Cable-television subscribers can choose which channels they wish to receive.


Answer: D

Why not A ?

A supports the argument. If people are influenced by ads they spend money as a result of watching tv.

The position or the conclusion of the spokesperson is: Subscriptions to cable television are a bargain in comparison to "free" television.

Intermediate conclusion (which supports the above conclusion): "free" television is not really free.

Premise (which supports the intermediate conclusion): It is consumers, in the end, who pay for the costly advertising that supports "free" television

Any statement which falsifies or attacks either:
1. the premise
2. or the interwmediate conclusion
3. or any of the assumptions, which are required to arrive at the conclusion

will be damaging to the position of the spokesperson.

Statement D attacks the intermediate conclusion by saying that there are as many ads on cable TV as on free TV channels. Thus, the consumers don't "pay" anything extra (in the form of more ads)to watch free TV channels. Therefore, the free TV is actually free.

Statement A does not distinguish between ads seen on free TV and ads seen on cable TV. Thus, it cannot attack any piece of the argument.

Cheers,
CJ

A is irrelevant to the discussion here.

The central theme of Cable-television spokesperson's statement is "cable television is a bargain in comparison to free television" and he supports this with the evidence that free tv is not actually free as consumer indirectly pay for the ads.

In weaken type CR questions, the mostly likely answer option will attack the evidence on which the author draws his conclusion. In this question option D does exactly that by saying that cable television has the same quantity of advertising.

One of think above statements as shown below

Cable television spokesperson: Cable television is better than Free television. Consumers are indirectly paying for 10 ads that are shown in free television.

Now if I say that cable television has >= 10 ads. Does it weaken the conclusion? YES!

If this had been a STRENGTHEN type question an answer option like cable television has zero ads will strengthen the argument. Option B, which says that the total no of ads in cable television is less than (<) that in free television, could also be an answer option in strengthen type.

this is a hare question because it is hard to understand the problem, to understand the argument structure. second, it is hard because we find hard to prethink the answer before we read the answer choices.

the argument is short but it is not easy at all to understand the problem.

evidence: free tv is not free
conclusion: cable tv is a good bargain

normally we prethink an assumption for weaken question

prethink assumption: hard to prethink
prethink weakener: information which show cable tv is not a good bargain.

D match.

I realize a point here. for some question it is easy to prethink an assumption and then an answer choice. for other questions, it is hard to prethink an assumption but it is easy to prethink an answer choice without knowing any assumption

what do we do? we still try to prethink an assumption for hard-to-prethink-assumption question?

anyone has any tip for this situation? pls share.