Question

Difficulty: MediumDistinguishing Claims from Evidence

Based on the passage below, match each claim made by choice architects or their critics with the specific piece of evidence used to support or evaluate it in the text.

Passage
In behavioral economics, researchers frequently study how the presentation of choices—known as choice architecture—influences human decision-making. A prominent assertion in this field is that individuals are significantly nudged toward healthier behaviors when more nutritious food options are placed at eye level in cafeterias. To investigate this, a study conducted in a university dining hall tracked food selection over a six-month period. When fresh fruit was moved from a lower shelf to a central display at eye level, purchases of fruit increased by 35%35\%, while sales of high-calorie desserts fell. Additionally, choice architects argue that introducing default options, such as automatically enrolling employees in retirement savings plans, dramatically increases participation rates. This claim is substantiated by data from a major manufacturing firm, which showed that implementing an automatic enrollment policy raised employee retirement plan participation from 48%48\% to 86%86\% in the first year. Critics, however, contend that these interventions restrict personal autonomy, pointing to survey responses where a minority of participants expressed irritation at feeling manipulated.

  • Nutritious food at eye level nudges individuals toward healthier eating choices.A 35%35\% rise in fruit sales and a corresponding drop in dessert purchases in a university cafeteria.
  • Automatically enrolling employees in retirement savings plans significantly increases participation.Retirement plan participation at a manufacturing company climbing from 48%48\% to 86%86\%.
  • Nudging interventions limit the personal freedom and independence of decision-makers.Responses from a small group of survey participants stating they felt annoyed at being manipulated.

Answer

Nutritious food at eye level nudges individuals toward healthier eating choices matches with a 35%35\% rise in fruit sales and a corresponding drop in dessert purchases in a university cafeteria. Automatically enrolling employees in retirement savings plans significantly increases participation matches with retirement plan participation at a manufacturing company climbing from 48%48\% to 86%86\%. Nudging interventions limit the personal freedom and independence of decision-makers matches with responses from a small group of survey participants stating they felt annoyed at being manipulated.
Each claim is correctly matched to its corresponding evidence from the passage. The assertion that eye-level placement nudges individuals toward healthier choices is supported by the 35%35\% increase in fruit sales and decrease in dessert sales. The claim that default options increase retirement participation is supported by the increase in participation from 48%48\% to 86%86\%. The critics' claim that autonomy is restricted is supported by the survey responses indicating irritation about feeling manipulated.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the first claim regarding the impact of placing healthy food at eye level.
The claim is that placing nutritious food at eye level nudges individuals toward healthier choices.
This sets up the first connection between the assertion and the corresponding empirical evidence.
2
Locate the evidence in the text supporting the food-placement claim.
The text provides study data where moving fruit to eye level resulted in a 35%35\% increase in fruit purchases and a decrease in dessert sales.
This matching pair connects the nutritional nudging claim with its quantitative real-world outcome.
3
Identify the second claim about automatic retirement enrollment.
The claim is that default enrollment dramatically increases retirement plan participation rates.
This establishes the second concept-evidence pair.
4
Match the retirement claim with its supporting data.
The text supports this claim with manufacturing firm data showing a participation rise from 48%48\% to 86%86\%.
This connects the general assertion of higher participation to the specific statistical evidence.
5
Identify the critics' claim and match it with the remaining evidence.
The claim that interventions restrict personal autonomy matches the survey data noting some participants' irritation at feeling manipulated.
This completes the matching process by pairing the critics' subjective assertion with the reported survey feedback.

Key Concept

Distinguishing claims (general assertions or hypotheses) from evidence (empirical data, observations, or survey results that support or refute those assertions) in a reading passage.
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