Scientist: The appropriate way to discover how best to market manufactured products is to apply the methods of anthropology. Of...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Scientist: The appropriate way to discover how best to market manufactured products is to apply the methods of anthropology. Of course not all theorists agree. But clearly, the reason that marketing techniques and practices have developed is to help satisfy consumer demand most efficiently. How such marketing techniques and practices have developed can be scientifically studied by anthropologists.
To which of the following criticisms is the scientist's argument most vulnerable?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| The appropriate way to discover how best to market manufactured products is to apply the methods of anthropology. |
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| Of course not all theorists agree. |
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| But clearly, the reason that marketing techniques and practices have developed is to help satisfy consumer demand most efficiently. |
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| How such marketing techniques and practices have developed can be scientifically studied by anthropologists. |
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Argument Flow:
The scientist starts with their main conclusion, briefly acknowledges disagreement, then provides two premises to support their view - first explaining what marketing is supposed to do, then claiming anthropologists can study how marketing developed.
Main Conclusion:
The best way to discover effective marketing strategies is to use anthropology methods.
Logical Structure:
The argument tries to connect anthropology's ability to study how marketing developed with the idea that this makes anthropology the right tool for discovering better marketing approaches. However, there's a logical gap - just because anthropologists can study how marketing evolved doesn't necessarily mean they're the best choice for figuring out future marketing strategies.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Misc - This is asking us to identify the biggest flaw or weakness in the scientist's reasoning. We need to spot where the logic breaks down or what critical gap exists in the argument.
Precision of Claims
The scientist makes a definitive claim about what is 'appropriate' for discovering the best marketing methods, then provides reasoning about what marketing does and what anthropologists can study. The gap is between studying 'how' something developed versus determining 'how best' to do it going forward.
Strategy
We need to identify the main logical flaw in this argument. The scientist concludes that anthropology methods should be used to discover the best marketing approaches, but the reasoning only shows that anthropologists can study how marketing developed in the past. We should look for criticisms that point out this disconnect - that studying the historical development of something doesn't necessarily tell us the best way to do it in the future.
This suggests the argument overlooks that one scientific method might not work for every process. While this could be a valid general criticism, it doesn't directly address the specific logical flaw in this argument. The scientist isn't claiming anthropology works for everything - they're specifically talking about marketing research. This misses the core weakness in the reasoning.
This hits the nail on the head! The scientist concludes that anthropology is the best way to discover optimal marketing strategies, but their reasoning only establishes that anthropologists can study how marketing techniques developed historically. There's a huge logical gap here - just because we can trace the historical development of something doesn't mean that tracing will reveal what's best. The argument fails to bridge this gap between studying past development and determining future best practices.
This suggests the argument assumes scientific inquiry isn't affected by marketing. However, the scientist never makes any claims about whether scientific research itself is influenced by marketing techniques. This criticism attacks something that isn't actually part of the argument's reasoning chain.
This points out that the argument overlooks marketing applications beyond consumer demand. But the scientist's argument is specifically focused on marketing manufactured products to satisfy consumer demand - they're not trying to make broader claims about all possible marketing applications. This criticism is outside the scope of what the scientist is arguing.
This claims the argument assumes most anthropologists are skilled in applying marketing techniques. However, the scientist's reasoning is about anthropologists studying how marketing developed, not about them being skilled marketers themselves. The argument is about research capabilities, not practical marketing skills, so this criticism misses the mark.