It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry. This dose not show that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same age, young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life, most notably smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?
A. Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
B. A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
C. A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
D. Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
E. Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
OAE
Please explain each option.
Thanks
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men and women that those who marry as young adults live long
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GMATGuruNY
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The correct answer must support the conclusion that marriage does NOT cause people to live longer.rsarashi wrote:It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry. This does not show that marriage causes people to live longer, since, as compared with other people of the same age, young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life, most notably smoking and immoderate drinking of alcohol.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument above?
A. Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
B. A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
C. A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
D. Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
E. Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
E: Those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
Here, unmarried people live as long as married people, supporting the conclusion that marriage does NOT cause people to live longer.
The correct answer is E.
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ceilidh.erickson
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When you want to STRENGTHEN a conclusion, you must first determine what's MISSING in the argument: what assumptions the author has made in connecting the premises to conclusion.
Premises:
- those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.
- young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life
Conclusion:
- This does not show that marriage causes people to live longer
Missing assumption:
- are people the same throughout their entire lives? Would healthy or unhealthy habits before marriage change during marriage?
- are there other factors about marriage that might cause people to live longer, besides pre-marriage healthy behaviors?
Analyzing answer choices:
We need to pick the answer that makes it more likely that the correlation between marriage and long life is NOT due to the fact that marriage causes people to live longer.
A. Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
This would WEAKEN, rather than strengthen - it suggests that marriage DOES cause people to live longer.
B. A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
Same as with A - this suggests that marriage DOES cause people to live longer.
C. A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
So unhealthy people marry each other... but does that make them likely to live longer, or less long? Unclear.
D. Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
This might suggest that marriage DOES help people to live longer... except that we don't have a comparison. What about people who don't marry, but who give up habits? This doesn't tell us much.
E. Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
Bingo! This would suggest that there is no added benefit that marriage alone confers. The longer life span of married people is likely due to the fact that healthier people tend to get married.
The answer is E.
Premises:
- those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.
- young adults who are about to get married have fewer of the unhealthy habits that can cause a person to have a shorter life
Conclusion:
- This does not show that marriage causes people to live longer
Missing assumption:
- are people the same throughout their entire lives? Would healthy or unhealthy habits before marriage change during marriage?
- are there other factors about marriage that might cause people to live longer, besides pre-marriage healthy behaviors?
Analyzing answer choices:
We need to pick the answer that makes it more likely that the correlation between marriage and long life is NOT due to the fact that marriage causes people to live longer.
A. Marriage tends to cause people to engage less regularly in sports that involve risk of bodily harm.
This would WEAKEN, rather than strengthen - it suggests that marriage DOES cause people to live longer.
B. A married person who has an unhealthy habit is more likely to give up that habit than a person with the same habit who is unmarried.
Same as with A - this suggests that marriage DOES cause people to live longer.
C. A person who smokes is much more likely than a nonsmoker to marry a person who smokes at the time of marriage, and the same is true for people who drink alcohol immoderately.
So unhealthy people marry each other... but does that make them likely to live longer, or less long? Unclear.
D. Among people who marry as young adults, most of those who give up an unhealthy habit after marriage do not resume the habit later in life.
This might suggest that marriage DOES help people to live longer... except that we don't have a comparison. What about people who don't marry, but who give up habits? This doesn't tell us much.
E. Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.
Bingo! This would suggest that there is no added benefit that marriage alone confers. The longer life span of married people is likely due to the fact that healthier people tend to get married.
The answer is E.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
