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In an experiment, one group of volunteers was shown words associated with money, such as "salary," whereas another group was shown neutral words. Afterward, individuals in both groups solved puzzles unrelated to money. Those who had been shown words associated with money were much less likely to request or offer help with the puzzles. The researchers concluded from this evidence that preoccupation with money makes people less cooperative.
Which of the following is an assumption the researchers' reasoning requires?
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| In an experiment, one group of volunteers was shown words associated with money, such as "salary," whereas another group was shown neutral words. |
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| Afterward, individuals in both groups solved puzzles unrelated to money. |
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| Those who had been shown words associated with money were much less likely to request or offer help with the puzzles. |
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| The researchers concluded from this evidence that preoccupation with money makes people less cooperative. |
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The argument starts by describing an experiment with two groups, then shows what happened during the test, reveals the results, and finally draws a broad conclusion from those results.
Preoccupation with money makes people less cooperative.
The researchers use experimental evidence (money-word group was less helpful) to support a general claim about money's effect on cooperation. The logic assumes that seeing money words creates the same mental state as being preoccupied with money, and that helping behavior in puzzles represents overall cooperation.
Assumption - We need to find what the researchers must believe to be true for their conclusion to be valid. This means finding gaps in their reasoning that they're assuming are filled.
The conclusion makes a precise causal claim: 'preoccupation with money makes people less cooperative.' The study showed that exposure to money words led to less helpful behavior during puzzles.
For assumption questions, we look for ways the conclusion could fall apart while keeping all the facts from the experiment intact. The researchers jump from 'saw money words and were less helpful' to 'preoccupation with money reduces cooperation.' We need to find what they're assuming about this connection.