Researchers asked 100 fifty-year-olds and 100 twenty- year-olds whether they gave blood. Because nearly twice as many...

Skylar on August 9, 2020

@fable, happy to help!

The passage explains research (a survey asking about blood donation) and the conclusions the researchers drew from this (that fifty-year-olds are more altruistic than twenty-year-olds on average). At this point, the passage calls the conclusion into question by saying, "But there is reason for skepticism. Many people hesitate to admit that their behavior does not conform to societal expectations." In other words, the passage questions the conclusion on the basis that some of the data may be skewed by survey participants who sacrifice honesty to fit in with social norms. For example, perhaps some of the fifty-year-olds felt societal pressure to report that they sometimes donate blood even if they actually don't.

(D) criticizing the motives of the researchers
This is incorrect because the passage says nothing about the motives of the researchers. The skepticism mentioned falls on the honesty of the survey respondents, not those conducting the survey (aka the researchers). If the argument did criticize the researchers, it would likely be an invalid ad hominem argument, and we see that this is clearly not the case. Therefore, (D) is irrelevant and incorrect.

Does that make sense? Hope it helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.