ISAT Identifying Assumptions in Arguments 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Argument: 'We should hire Candidate A because she graduated from the most prestigious university.' What assumption underlies this recommendation?
- Prestigious universities charge higher tuition fees
- University prestige is a reliable predictor of job performance relevant to this position (Correct answer)
- Candidate A's qualifications exceed those of all other applicants
- The organization values academic credentials over practical experience
Correct answer: University prestige is a reliable predictor of job performance relevant to this position
The argument assumes prestige of institution correlates with the candidate's ability to perform well in this specific role.
Question 2: Argument: 'Our survey found that 80% of respondents prefer Brand X; Brand X is therefore the most preferred product in the market.' What assumption is present?
- Brand X has a larger advertising budget than competitors
- Survey respondents are representative of the entire market population (Correct answer)
- The survey was conducted by an independent research firm
- 80% preference is sufficient to claim market leadership
Correct answer: Survey respondents are representative of the entire market population
The argument assumes the survey sample accurately reflects all consumers, ignoring potential sampling bias.
Question 3: Argument: 'Patients given Medication Y recovered faster than those who received no treatment; Medication Y must therefore accelerate recovery.' What assumption is this making?
- Medication Y has no serious side effects
- The recovery difference was not due to placebo effect, spontaneous recovery, or other confounding variables (Correct answer)
- The patients who received Medication Y had more mild cases
- All patients in the study had identical medical histories
Correct answer: The recovery difference was not due to placebo effect, spontaneous recovery, or other confounding variables
The argument assumes the observed difference is due to the medication itself rather than other explanations like the placebo effect or natural recovery rates.
Question 4: Argument: 'Because this policy has worked in Sweden, it will work in the United States.' What assumption does this rely on?
- Sweden and the United States have similar climates
- The conditions relevant to the policy's success are sufficiently similar between the two countries (Correct answer)
- Sweden's policies are generally more progressive than those of the United States
- The United States has previously adopted Swedish policies successfully
Correct answer: The conditions relevant to the policy's success are sufficiently similar between the two countries
The argument assumes that the contextual factors enabling the policy's success in Sweden also exist in the United States.
Question 5: Argument: 'This charity has a low administrative overhead ratio, so donating to it is the best use of charitable funds.' What assumption is made?
- Low overhead charities are more transparent about their finances
- Low administrative costs are the most important indicator of a charity's effectiveness and impact (Correct answer)
- Charities with high overhead spend less money on programs than the average
- Donors should always prefer local charities over international ones
Correct answer: Low administrative costs are the most important indicator of a charity's effectiveness and impact
The argument assumes overhead ratio is the primary or sufficient measure of charitable value, ignoring program effectiveness or impact per dollar.
Question 6: Argument: 'Students who take music lessons score higher on math tests; teaching music in schools will therefore improve math achievement.' What hidden assumption does this contain?
- Music and mathematics are taught by different teachers
- The association between music lessons and math scores is causal, not due to a common factor like family income or parental involvement (Correct answer)
- Music education is less expensive than additional math tutoring
- Schools that teach music have longer instructional days
Correct answer: The association between music lessons and math scores is causal, not due to a common factor like family income or parental involvement
The argument assumes music education causes better math performance, ignoring that both may stem from the same underlying advantages.
Question 7: Argument: 'Since we introduced the new training program, employee error rates have dropped by 20%; the training program is working.' What assumption is embedded in this conclusion?
- The training program cost less than the productivity gains it generated
- The drop in errors is attributable to the training program and not to other concurrent changes (Correct answer)
- All employees completed the training program at the same time
- A 20% reduction in errors is statistically significant
Correct answer: The drop in errors is attributable to the training program and not to other concurrent changes
The argument assumes the training caused the improvement, not other simultaneous factors such as new equipment or seasonal workload changes.
ISAT Identifying Assumptions in Arguments 4
Argument: 'We should hire Candidate A because she graduated from the most prestigious university.' What assumption underlies this recommendation?