Q.95 GMAT OG 13th Edition

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Q.95 GMAT OG 13th Edition

by Priyaranjan » Sun May 17, 2015 1:29 am
Q. Studies in restaurants show that the tips left by customers who pay their bill in cash tend to be larger when the bill is presented on a tray that bears a credit-card logo. Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply seeing a credit-card logo makes many credit-card holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the psychologists' interpretation of the studies?

A. The effect noted in the studies is not limited to patrons who have credit cards.

B. Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented with a restaurant bill on a tray with a credit-card logo than when the tray has no logo.

C. In virtually all of the cases in the studies, the patrons who paid bills in cash did not possess credit cards.

D. In general, restaurant patrons who pay their bills in cash leave larger tips than do those who pay by credit card.

E. The percentage of restaurant bills paid with a given brand of credit card increases when that credit card's logo is displayed on the tray with which the bill is presented.

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun May 17, 2015 2:48 am
Priyaranjan wrote:Q. Studies in restaurants show that the tips left by customers who pay their bill in cash tend to be larger when the bill is presented on a tray that bears a credit-card logo. Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply seeing a credit-card logo makes many credit-card holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the psychologists' interpretation of the studies?

A. The effect noted in the studies is not limited to patrons who have credit cards.

B. Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented with a restaurant bill on a tray with a credit-card logo than when the tray has no logo.

C. In virtually all of the cases in the studies, the patrons who paid bills in cash did not possess credit cards.

D. In general, restaurant patrons who pay their bills in cash leave larger tips than do those who pay by credit card.

E. The percentage of restaurant bills paid with a given brand of credit card increases when that credit card's logo is displayed on the tray with which the bill is presented.
Consumer psychologists hypothesize that simply seeing a credit-card logo makes many credit-card holders willing to spend more because it reminds them that their spending power exceeds the cash they have immediately available.

The psychologists are trying to establish a link between the THE CREDIT CARD LOGO and the AMOUNT OF THE TIP.
The assumption is that seeing the logo affects how much tip is left.
The correct answer choice will strengthen this link.
B: Patrons who are under financial pressure from their credit-card obligations tend to tip less when presented with a restaurant bill on a tray with a credit-card logo.
Here, SEEING THE LOGO causes financially strapped patrons to tip LESS, strengthening the link between the logo and the amount of the tip.

The correct answer is B.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Sat Sep 12, 2015 2:23 am
Hi Verbal Experts,
Although I got this one, few clarifications STILL required.

1. Other than the STRENGTHENER as in the OA what else could be POSSIBLE STRENGTHENERS in this CR ?

2. In the OA, it seems to me that the psychologists' hypothesis holds good as the OA provides an OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation. So, isn't it an INDIRECT way to support the argument (hence, its conclusion) ?

I mean, the DIRECT one would be if X then Y. BUT here it appears that the OA establishes if NOT X then NOT Y. (As it's a STRENGTHEN CR, MUST BE TRUE aspect is NOT VALID here. Otherwise, this -- OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation -- will NOT have been possible. Right ?)

How often we can see this type of CR on GMAT ? Could you please provide any other OG Qs in which SIMILAR reasoning is used ?

3. As for Option E, I think, it's IRRELEVANT because it talks about (a) The percentage of restaurant bills paid (BUT NOT about tips), and (b) given brand of credit card rather than the CREDIT CARD in GENERAL.

Would much appreciate your clarifications on the above concerns.Thanks in advance!

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by [email protected] » Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:19 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi Verbal Experts,
Although I got this one, few clarifications STILL required.

1. Other than the STRENGTHENER as in the OA what else could be POSSIBLE STRENGTHENERS in this CR ?

2. In the OA, it seems to me that the psychologists' hypothesis holds good as the OA provides an OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation. So, isn't it an INDIRECT way to support the argument (hence, its conclusion) ?

I mean, the DIRECT one would be if X then Y. BUT here it appears that the OA establishes if NOT X then NOT Y. (As it's a STRENGTHEN CR, MUST BE TRUE aspect is NOT VALID here. Otherwise, this -- OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation -- will NOT have been possible. Right ?)

How often we can see this type of CR on GMAT ? Could you please provide any other OG Qs in which SIMILAR reasoning is used ?

3. As for Option E, I think, it's IRRELEVANT because it talks about (a) The percentage of restaurant bills paid (BUT NOT about tips), and (b) given brand of credit card rather than the CREDIT CARD in GENERAL.

Would much appreciate your clarifications on the above concerns.Thanks in advance!
I also have the same query.

Experts' help much appreciated :)

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by RBBmba@2014 » Sun Jan 24, 2016 6:51 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi Verbal Experts,
Although I got this one, few clarifications STILL required.

1. Other than the STRENGTHENER as in the OA what else could be POSSIBLE STRENGTHENERS in this CR ?

2. In the OA, it seems to me that the psychologists' hypothesis holds good as the OA provides an OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation. So, isn't it an INDIRECT way to support the argument (hence, its conclusion) ?

I mean, the DIRECT one would be if X then Y. BUT here it appears that the OA establishes if NOT X then NOT Y. (As it's a STRENGTHEN CR, MUST BE TRUE aspect is NOT VALID here. Otherwise, this -- OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation -- will NOT have been possible. Right ?)

How often we can see this type of CR on GMAT ? Could you please provide any other OG Qs in which SIMILAR reasoning is used ?

3. As for Option E, I think, it's IRRELEVANT because it talks about (a) The percentage of restaurant bills paid (BUT NOT about tips), and (b) given brand of credit card rather than the CREDIT CARD in GENERAL.

Would much appreciate your clarifications on the above concerns.Thanks in advance!
HI Verbal Experts,
Could any of you please share your feedback on my above concerns ?

Look forward to hear your thoughts. Much thanks for your cooperation!

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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:52 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:
RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi Verbal Experts,
Although I got this one, few clarifications STILL required.

1. Other than the STRENGTHENER as in the OA what else could be POSSIBLE STRENGTHENERS in this CR ?

2. In the OA, it seems to me that the psychologists' hypothesis holds good as the OA provides an OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation. So, isn't it an INDIRECT way to support the argument (hence, its conclusion) ?

I mean, the DIRECT one would be if X then Y. BUT here it appears that the OA establishes if NOT X then NOT Y. (As it's a STRENGTHEN CR, MUST BE TRUE aspect is NOT VALID here. Otherwise, this -- OPPOSITE/REVERSE causation -- will NOT have been possible. Right ?)

How often we can see this type of CR on GMAT ? Could you please provide any other OG Qs in which SIMILAR reasoning is used ?

3. As for Option E, I think, it's IRRELEVANT because it talks about (a) The percentage of restaurant bills paid (BUT NOT about tips), and (b) given brand of credit card rather than the CREDIT CARD in GENERAL.

Would much appreciate your clarifications on the above concerns.Thanks in advance!
HI Verbal Experts,
Could any of you please share your feedback on my above concerns ?

Look forward to hear your thoughts. Much thanks for your cooperation!
1) Though there can be value in brain-storming potential strengtheners before examining the answer choices, engaging in this exercise after you've completed the question doesn't strike me as worthwhile. It's not as though you're going to see this same argument again. But, for what it's worth, the argument is positing that seeing a credit card logo makes us think about how much money we have to spend, and if we have know we could spend more, we tip more. As an arrow diagram, it might look like this: see logo-----> perception of available $ -----> influence tip size. Anything that facilitates the connection between our perception of how much we have to spend and the size of our tip will be a good strengthener.

2) A strengthener doesn't have to be true. Imagine that you and I are in a race. If the conclusion is that you will win, it would clearly strengthen the conclusion if it turns out that I break my ankle midway through the race. But, of course, I don't have to break my ankle for you to win. You may just be faster than me. In an ASSUMPTION question, the answer must be true, given the parameters and logic of the argument. But not in a STRENGTHEN question. Put another way, if I break my ankle, it strengthens the conclusion that you will win the race. But we can't simply assume that I'll break my ankle.

Same logic here. Just because an argument asserts: perception of having more $ -----> bigger tip,
it doesn't have to be true that perception of having less $ ----> smaller tip. B would not be the answer to an ASSUMPTION question. But because B reinforces the connection between a patron's perception of how much money she has to spend and the size of the tip she gives, it still strengthens the argument that tip size will increase if the sight of a credit card logo causes a patron to perceive that she has more $ to spend. So the key to your question is distinguishing between an ASSUMPTION question and a STRENGTHEN question.

And you're correct that E is simply irrelevant here.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:04 pm
DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote: As an arrow diagram, it might look like this: see logo-----> perception of available $ -----> influence tip size. Anything that facilitates the connection between our perception of how much we have to spend and the size of our tip will be a good strengthener.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the detail clarifications.

A quick question:

Considering your above arrow diagram, I think, we can say that this statement -- People without Credit Cards tip less (or don't tip higher),seeing the logo -- is a POTENTIAL STRENGTHENER, because in a STRENGTHEN CR MUST BE TRUE aspect is NOT VALID! However, had it been an ASSUMPTION Qs then this statement -- People without Credit Cards tip less (or don't tip higher),seeing the logo -- wouldn't have been an ASSUMPTION definitely as it's NOT a MUST BE TRUE premise.

Is my understanding correct ?

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by RBBmba@2014 » Mon Feb 15, 2016 10:22 pm
Hi DavidG@VeritasPrep - could you please share your thoughts on my above concerns ?

Look forward to your feedback. Much thanks in advance!

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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:42 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi DavidG@VeritasPrep - could you please share your thoughts on my above concerns ?

Look forward to your feedback. Much thanks in advance!
I apologize for missing this question the first time around. I think it's definitely fair to say that the claim "People without Credit Cards tip less (or don't tip higher),seeing the logo" couldn't be an assumption. It's possible that people without credit cards can still be affected by the sight of a logo. There's no way to know.

As a strengthener, I think it's a more interesting argument. On the one hand, it makes sense: if the logo has no impact on those who don't have cards, that would be consistent with the argument that the logo is what influences tip amounts in those who do have cards. But it's still somewhat problematic because we don't necessarily know why the card holders are paying more in response to seeing the logo. The argument isn't simply that the logo prompts the card-holder to tip more, but that the logo prompts the card-holder to tip more specifically because the card holder is reminded that she has more spending power. The OA connects perception of spending power to tip amount, and this strikes me as important. So my take is that there is some logic to the claim that this would be a strengthener, but that it isn't quite strong enough to qualify as an OA for a GMAT question.
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by RBBmba@2014 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:19 pm
I understand your point...so, going by this logic, we CAN'T also say that "People who see the logo of the credit card they themselves own pay higher tips than people who see the logo of other credit card companies" - could be a possible strengthener ?

Because,the same reason -- perception of spending power to tip amount -- is missing here...NOT strong enough to qualify as an OA for a GMAT CR.

Am I correct ?

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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Wed Feb 17, 2016 8:12 am
RBBmba@2014 wrote:I understand your point...so, going by this logic, we CAN'T also say that "People who see the logo of the credit card they themselves own pay higher tips than people who see the logo of other credit card companies" - could be a possible strengthener ?

Because,the same reason -- perception of spending power to tip amount -- is missing here...NOT strong enough to qualify as an OA for a GMAT CR.

Am I correct ?
Yeah, that's my sense.
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