a CR question

[brianc]

A particular phenomenon has been observed in the relationship between age and attire. The more formally a person is dressed, the older the average observer will gauge him or her to be. Thus, the average observer viewing two men, one wearing a business suit and the other wearing casual clothing, will generally estimate the man in the business suit to be five years older than the man wearing casual clothing.

The conclusion of the argument above would be more properly drawn if which of the following were true?


A)The age of the man wearing the business suit is greater than that of the man wearing casual clothing.

B)The older a man is, the more likely it is that he will wear a business suit.

C)The age of the man wearing the business suit is equal to the age of the man wearing casual clothing.
D) The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding casually dressed people than formally dressed people.
E) The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding formally dressed people than casually dressed people

Can someone explain why C is correct answer ?

[Unlimitedgmat]

If the two are actually the same age, then this will lend weight to the conclusion that it is only the clothing the gives them the appearance of being older.

Since the original theory is that, "the more formally a person is dressed, the older the average observer will gauge him or her to be," then it is more to do with their clothes than their age. If they are the same age then we can eliminate their 'true' age as a possible reason to perceive difference between them, leaving only their clothing to help the observer gauge the age.

If the observer then still claims the formally dressed person is older then we know that it must be the clothing, and not their true age that is causing the higher age estimate.

Hope that helps.

Mo