Based on the passage, it can be inferred that the author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following?

SamA on January 26, 2020

Hello @shafieiava,

I am able to eliminate certain answer choices based on my memory of the passage. If I am uncertain, I definitely want to return to the passage to look for evidence.

Your question depends on how you define direct support. The question asks us what the author is "most likely to agree with." The answer may not be explicitly written in the text, but there is always information in the passage that will give us what we need. Let's go through these answer choices.

A. I don't remember anything about negotiating styles, or a group's relationship with its adversaries. I was able to eliminate this one fairly quickly, but if you are unsure, you want to return to the paragraph where you believe the answer would be. I would start at the second paragraph, because that is where the pitfalls of cohesion begin. You will see that there is no support for A.

B. As described in paragraph one, what are the problems with low cohesion? The members do not speak up when they disagree with the group. In other words, their opinions are not critically examined. Do you see why B is the correct answer? This opinion of the author was not explicitly written, but it was provided "in other words." This is the kind of support you need to look for on "most likely to agree" questions.

C. This doesn't fit the author's argument. Is the problem with group decision making that the opinions are too varied? No, quite the opposite. The author seems to value the consideration of multiple viewpoints. Whether out of fear-based conformity or groupthink, too much unity is bad for decision making.

D. No mention of intense stress and high expectations. Easy to eliminate.

E. Where does groupthink come from? I went back to paragraph two to take a second look. The author describes it as a result of group cohesion. While I cannot say that answer choice E is impossible, the author provides no information to support it.

Kyland on January 29, 2022

I put E because it seems like they can have the same symptoms. They both can result in a group agreeing with a decision and not critically think about the problem. perhaps the ALL symptoms is too strong?

Abigail on February 1, 2022

Hello @kyland,

Exactly, on Must be True questions, there are certain words that carry particular logical significance (conditional indicators and quantifier indicators, including "All.") If there is not direct textual support for "all" (as opposed to some or most), then it is too strong and we can eliminate it.

I hope that clarifies things.

Abigail