Critical Reasoning

Shy adolescents often devote themselves totally to a hobby to help distract them from the loneliness brought on by their shyness. Sometimes they are able to become friends with others who share their hobby. But if they lose interest in that hobby, their loneliness may be exacerbated. So developing an all-consuming hobby is not a successful strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness.

Which one of the following assumptions does the argument depend on?

(A) Eventually, shy adolescents are going to want a wider circle of friends than is provided by their hobby.

(B) No successful strategy fro overcoming adolescent loneliness ever intensifies that loneliness.

(C) Shy adolescents will lose interest in their hobbies if they do not make friends through their engagement in those hobbies.

(D) Some other strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness is generally more successful than is developing an all-consuming hobby.

(E) Shy adolescents devote themselves to hobbies mainly because they want to make friends.

Tough one for me. IMO A


But if they lose interest in that hobby, their loneliness may be exacerbated.
So developing an all-consuming hobby is not a successful strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness.

According to these two statements, the author is indicating that hobby is not the solution for the adolescents shyness. This is indicated by A.

I feel D should be the answer. Because it gives a more general statement of alternative solution.....

IS THE ANSWER B?

i go for B.

IMO C


C --> developing an all-consuming hobby is not a successful strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness.
P --> if they lose interest in that hobby, their loneliness may be exacerbated.
Scope shift --> Shy adolescents will lose interest at some point in time. IMO C bridges the gap by stating the same. But I guess it expands the scope by stating the objective of hobbies.

What is the OA?

tricky ... D maybe the answer

The answer should be B as the argument assumes that strategy is not successful it it intensifies loneliness at any point of time.

IMO B
B states that no succesful strategy intensifies loneliness. The statement states that hobby many exacerbates/intensifies loneliness. Thus, leading to the conclusion that hobby is not a successful strategy.

D cannot be the correct answer because it talks about other strategies that are more successful than developing hobby. Note: this does not lead to the conclusion that developing hobby is not a successful strategy.

I agree with crackgmat007..
C bridges the gap in the argument.

IMO ... D
Conclusion fails negating this choice
:

What's the OA?

italian7745 wrote:Shy adolescents often devote themselves totally to a hobby to help distract them from the loneliness brought on by their shyness. Sometimes they are able to become friends with others who share their hobby. But if they lose interest in that hobby, their loneliness may be exacerbated. So developing an all-consuming hobby is not a successful strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness.

Which one of the following assumptions does the argument depend on?

(A) Eventually, shy adolescents are going to want a wider circle of friends than is provided by their hobby.

(B) No successful strategy fro overcoming adolescent loneliness ever intensifies that loneliness.

(C) Shy adolescents will lose interest in their hobbies if they do not make friends through their engagement in those hobbies.

(D) Some other strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness is generally more successful than is developing an all-consuming hobby.

(E) Shy adolescents devote themselves to hobbies mainly because they want to make friends.

i go for b.

Wow what a question. we have all the answer choices.

I was stuck between D and E.

Went for E because of the highlighted portion

Shy adolescents often devote themselves totally to a hobby to help distract them from the loneliness brought on by their shyness.Sometimes they are able to become friends with others who share their hobby.

But if they lose interest in that hobby, their loneliness may be exacerbated. So developing an all-consuming hobby is not a successful strategy for overcoming adolescent loneliness

The answer is B. Here's a logical "proof":

The passage states that... a strategy which results in exacerbated loneliness -> an unsuccessful strategy. Taking the contrapositive of this statement, we have that "a successful strategy -> a strategy which does not result in exacerbated loneliness."

In other words, all successful strategies never end in exacerbated loneliness. Rephrasing this, there does not exist a strategy such that the strategy results in exacerbated loneliness. This is exactly what B states.