Q2 - Psychologist: The best way recall

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Match the Reasoning (with implied principle)

Stimulus Breakdown:
Conclusion: Best way to remember something stuck on the tip of your tongue is to think of other stuff.
Evidence: The more you strain to remember something, the less likely you remember it.

Answer Anticipation:
What sort of principle could we say underlies that argument? Something like, "The best way to achieve X is to actually do something OTHER THAN trying to achieve X, since trying to achieve X makes it less likely you'll do so."

Correct Answer:
D

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) We would need to hear some premise that's more like, "the more you strive to achieve happiness, the less likely you are to succeed".

(B) This is saying the best way to achieve X is to focus on PART of it, rather than the overwhelming WHOLE.

(C) Pretty close. This is more like, "If you want to solve the problem of X, pretend there isn't any problem to solve, since you'll be more likely to succeed at other things, which will make X seem like it's not a problem anymore."

(D) Yes! "if you want to get to sleep, stop trying to get to sleep, because trying to go to sleep makes it less likely that you'll do so."

(E) This doesn't have a premise that feels like "the more you think about your sorrow, the worse it gets". It's more like "by thinking about something else, you'll feel better."

Takeaway/Pattern: Getting a strong sense of the principle helps use be pickier as we go through the choices. If we know we're looking for something like "the harder you try for something, the less likely it will come", then only (D) provides a clear match. Other answers would take much more finessing in order to get them to match up.

#officialexplanation

[tzyc]

I understand why (D) is correct, but why is (A) incorrect?
(A) also seems suggesting that for achieving a certain purpose, people should do something different from that.
Thank you

[tommywallach]

Hey Strawberry,

So I see where the appeal is on (A), but actually it's further from the example than you might think. The principle in the stimulus could be simplified thusly:

If you want to accomplish X (remember something), focus on Y (mental diversion).

Answer choice (A) says: If you want to accomplish X (happiness), don't focus on Y (wealth/fame). See the difference?

Answer choice (D) says: If you want to accomplish X (falling asleep), focus on Y (mental diversion).

Hope that helps!

-t

[hyperblue6]

is this a principle used in matching question?

[disguise_sky]

If you want to accomplish X (remember something), focus on Y (mental diversion).
-t

hi tommy. hi everybody.

I have a question as follows:

Do we have to look for the "the more ... the less likely" pattern in the stimulus in the answer choices? Would (D) still be correct if it does not have the "because" half?

Could anyone help? Thanks in advance!

[tommywallach]

Hyper: Yes.

Disguise: No. It's gotta match match.

-t