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People's supply of willpower is not infinite; psychologists have
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11 Aug 2023, 08:00
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People's supply of willpower is not infinite; psychologists have found that successfully accomplishing one task requiring self-control leads to less persistence on a second, seemingly unrelated task. But that finite supply can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use: a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months.
The reasoning above makes which of the following assumptions?
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
C. People's supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
The reasoning above makes which of the following assumptions?
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
C. People's supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
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Posts: 943
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GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Re: People's supply of willpower is not infinite; psychologists have
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11 Aug 2023, 15:10
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The conclusion of the argument is not clearly indicated by a keyword or by the structure of the argument. However, by considering which statement in the passage is supported by another statement, we can determine that the conclusion is the following:
that finite supply (of willpower) can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use
The support for that conclusion is the following:
a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months
The correct answer to the question must state an assumption that the argument makes in using that evidence to support the conclusion.
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
Notice that, regardless of whether studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered unrelated tasks, it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported doing more studying and housework and less television watching. In other words, after following an exercise program, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
Notice that, regardless of whether the people in the study watched less television than the average person before the study took place., it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported watching less television than they watched before. In other words, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
C. People's supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
The argument is simply that "willpower grows with use."
That conclusion could be true and could follow from the evidence even if people's supply of willpower CAN be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower, in other words, in a different way. After all, it's possible for a goal to be accomplishable in two different ways.
So, the argument doesn't assume what this choice says.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
The evidence used to support the conclusion that people's finite supply of willpower can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use is the fact that "people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months."
Honestly, the argument is not that tightly constructed. It's not 100 percent clear what the relationship between exercise and using willpower is.
Also, how this choice figures into the argument is not 100 percent clear. Does a person really have to use more willpower to exercise use of willpower?
At the same time, it seems clear that the fact that people followed a physical exercise program for two months does not mean that they exercised use of willpower. After all, it could be the case that those people didn't need to use willpower to exercise. Maybe they just liked exercising, or maybe they were accustomed to exercising and thus didn't need much willpower to exercise.
So, this choice seems to be a good candidate because it provides some confirmation that, in exercising, people did exercise use of will power and thus could have developed more willpower that supported their studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
This choice is hard to eliminate. After all, it seems to confirm that people did indeed develop more willpower by exercising for two months and that it is for that reason that they "reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework."
However, I think we can eliminate this choice because the evidence that they reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework is sufficient on its own to indicate that they developed more willpower. We don't need the additional evidence that, prior to the study, they had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework. After all, they did study more, watch less television, and do more housework. So, it's clear that something did change.
So, while this question was a close call for me, I think we can safely chose
that finite supply (of willpower) can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use
The support for that conclusion is the following:
a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months
The correct answer to the question must state an assumption that the argument makes in using that evidence to support the conclusion.
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
Notice that, regardless of whether studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered unrelated tasks, it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported doing more studying and housework and less television watching. In other words, after following an exercise program, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
Notice that, regardless of whether the people in the study watched less television than the average person before the study took place., it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported watching less television than they watched before. In other words, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
C. People's supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
The argument is simply that "willpower grows with use."
That conclusion could be true and could follow from the evidence even if people's supply of willpower CAN be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower, in other words, in a different way. After all, it's possible for a goal to be accomplishable in two different ways.
So, the argument doesn't assume what this choice says.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
The evidence used to support the conclusion that people's finite supply of willpower can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use is the fact that "people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months."
Honestly, the argument is not that tightly constructed. It's not 100 percent clear what the relationship between exercise and using willpower is.
Also, how this choice figures into the argument is not 100 percent clear. Does a person really have to use more willpower to exercise use of willpower?
At the same time, it seems clear that the fact that people followed a physical exercise program for two months does not mean that they exercised use of willpower. After all, it could be the case that those people didn't need to use willpower to exercise. Maybe they just liked exercising, or maybe they were accustomed to exercising and thus didn't need much willpower to exercise.
So, this choice seems to be a good candidate because it provides some confirmation that, in exercising, people did exercise use of will power and thus could have developed more willpower that supported their studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
This choice is hard to eliminate. After all, it seems to confirm that people did indeed develop more willpower by exercising for two months and that it is for that reason that they "reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework."
However, I think we can eliminate this choice because the evidence that they reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework is sufficient on its own to indicate that they developed more willpower. We don't need the additional evidence that, prior to the study, they had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework. After all, they did study more, watch less television, and do more housework. So, it's clear that something did change.
So, while this question was a close call for me, I think we can safely chose
General Discussion
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Re: People's supply of willpower is not infinite; psychologists have
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11 Aug 2023, 23:31
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MartyMurray wrote:
The conclusion of the argument is not clearly indicated by a keyword or by the structure of the argument. However, by considering which statement in the passage is supported by another statement, we can determine that the conclusion is the following:
that finite supply (of willpower) can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use
The support for that conclusion is the following:
a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months
The correct answer to the question must state an assumption that the argument makes in using that evidence to support the conclusion.
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
Notice that, regardless of whether studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered unrelated tasks, it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported doing more studying and housework and less television watching. In other words, after following an exercise program, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
Notice that, regardless of whether the people in the study watched less television than the average person before the study took place., it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported watching less television than they watched before. In other words, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
C. People's supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
The argument is simply that "willpower grows with use."
That conclusion could be true and could follow from the evidence even if people's supply of willpower CAN be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower, in other words, in a different way. After all, it's possible for a goal to be accomplishable in two different ways.
So, the argument doesn't assume what this choice says.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
The evidence used to support the conclusion that people's finite supply of willpower can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use is the fact that "people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months."
Honestly, the argument is not that tightly constructed. It's not 100 percent clear what the relationship between exercise and using willpower is.
Also, how this choice figures into the argument is not 100 percent clear. Does a person really have to use more willpower to exercise use of willpower?
At the same time, it seems clear that the fact that people followed a physical exercise program for two months does not mean that they exercised use of willpower. After all, it could be the case that those people didn't need to use willpower to exercise. Maybe they just liked exercising, or maybe they were accustomed to exercising and thus didn't need much willpower to exercise.
So, this choice seems to be a good candidate because it provides some confirmation that, in exercising, people did exercise use of will power and thus could have developed more willpower that supported their studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
This choice is hard to eliminate. After all, it seems to confirm that people did indeed develop more willpower by exercising for two months and that it is for that reason that they "reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework."
However, I think we can eliminate this choice because the evidence that they reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework is sufficient on its own to indicate that they developed more willpower. We don't need the additional evidence that, prior to the study, they had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework. After all, they did study more, watch less television, and do more housework. So, it's clear that something did change.
So, while this question was a close call for me, I think we can safely chose
that finite supply (of willpower) can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use
The support for that conclusion is the following:
a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months
The correct answer to the question must state an assumption that the argument makes in using that evidence to support the conclusion.
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
Notice that, regardless of whether studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered unrelated tasks, it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported doing more studying and housework and less television watching. In other words, after following an exercise program, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
Notice that, regardless of whether the people in the study watched less television than the average person before the study took place., it is still the case that, after following a physical exercise program for two months, the study participants reported watching less television than they watched before. In other words, the participants demonstrated increased willpower.
So, the evidence provided appears to support the conclusion regardless of whether this choice is assumed.
C. People's supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
The argument is simply that "willpower grows with use."
That conclusion could be true and could follow from the evidence even if people's supply of willpower CAN be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower, in other words, in a different way. After all, it's possible for a goal to be accomplishable in two different ways.
So, the argument doesn't assume what this choice says.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
The evidence used to support the conclusion that people's finite supply of willpower can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use is the fact that "people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months."
Honestly, the argument is not that tightly constructed. It's not 100 percent clear what the relationship between exercise and using willpower is.
Also, how this choice figures into the argument is not 100 percent clear. Does a person really have to use more willpower to exercise use of willpower?
At the same time, it seems clear that the fact that people followed a physical exercise program for two months does not mean that they exercised use of willpower. After all, it could be the case that those people didn't need to use willpower to exercise. Maybe they just liked exercising, or maybe they were accustomed to exercising and thus didn't need much willpower to exercise.
So, this choice seems to be a good candidate because it provides some confirmation that, in exercising, people did exercise use of will power and thus could have developed more willpower that supported their studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
This choice is hard to eliminate. After all, it seems to confirm that people did indeed develop more willpower by exercising for two months and that it is for that reason that they "reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework."
However, I think we can eliminate this choice because the evidence that they reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework is sufficient on its own to indicate that they developed more willpower. We don't need the additional evidence that, prior to the study, they had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework. After all, they did study more, watch less television, and do more housework. So, it's clear that something did change.
So, while this question was a close call for me, I think we can safely chose
Hello MartyMurray
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this question.
I was stuck between D and E and both options seem good at the first read. After reading your explanation, I now understand that E does provide a bit of redundant information in there. I do however want to understand whether the use of the words "more" and "whatever exercise" is necessary in the context of this argument. In other words, whether the use of "more" and "whatever exercise" makes this option an assumption.
The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
While I do understand and agree with you that the passage concludes that "willpower grows with use", I am a bit confused if we absolutely need those determiners in the assumption.