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Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Logical Flaws and Reasoning Vulnerabilities

Passage: A commercial airline recently observed that flight routes equipped with newly upgraded in-flight entertainment systems recorded a 15 percent higher passenger satisfaction rating over a six-month trial period than routes retaining standard systems. The airline's management concluded that installing these upgraded entertainment systems was the direct cause of the higher passenger satisfaction, and therefore ordered the immediate installation of the systems across all remaining aircraft to boost overall customer approval.

Statement: The management's argument is vulnerable to criticism because it assumes that an observed correlation between upgraded entertainment systems and higher passenger satisfaction proves a direct causal relationship, without ruling out alternative explanations for the higher ratings on those specific routes.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is True. The argument flawedly assumes that correlation implies causation by claiming the entertainment systems directly caused higher satisfaction ratings without accounting for potential confounding factors on the tested routes.
The statement correctly characterizes the core logical vulnerability of the argument. Management observed a statistical association between upgraded entertainment systems and elevated satisfaction ratings, then immediately concluded that the systems produced the increase. By failing to demonstrate that the trial routes did not differ in other significant ways (such as flight duration, crew performance, or arrival timeliness), the argument improperly equates correlation with direct causation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the Premise and Conclusion of the passage
Premise: Routes with new entertainment systems had 15% higher passenger satisfaction ratings than routes without them. Conclusion: The new entertainment systems were the direct cause of the higher passenger satisfaction.
Deconstructing the argument reveals that the conclusion hinges entirely on a causal claim derived from observational correlation data.
2
Identify the logical flaw in the reasoning
The argument commits a causal flaw by assuming that because the new systems and high ratings co-occurred, the systems must have caused the high ratings, ignoring alternative factors (e.g., flight schedules, aircraft condition, service quality).
In GMAT Critical Reasoning, inferring direct causation from correlation without eliminating confounding variables is a classic logical flaw.
3
Evaluate the accuracy of the given Statement
The statement correctly asserts that the argument assumes correlation proves causation without ruling out alternative explanations.
Since the statement accurately describes the argument's specific vulnerability, the correct response is True.

Key Concept

Confusing Correlation with Causation
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Topics

Identifying Logical Flaws and Reasoning Vulnerabilities

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