LSAT Explanation PT 37, S2, Q14: In response to office workers' worries

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the researchers' conclusion? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Weaken question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

We are dealing with a Weaken question here, which means we need to find the answer choice that most undermines the researchers' conclusion. The argument in the passage is structured as follows:

Premise: Frequent VDT users suffered from headaches more often than other office workers.

Conclusion: VDTs cause headaches.

To weaken this argument, we need to find an alternative explanation for the correlation between VDT use and headaches or show that the data used to support the conclusion is flawed. Let's think of an accessible example to help illustrate this: Imagine a study that shows people who eat more ice cream also have more sunburns. The conclusion might be that eating ice cream causes sunburns. However, a more reasonable explanation could be that people eat more ice cream during hot, sunny days when they're also more likely to get sunburned.

Now, let's evaluate the argument with a question: "Is there any other factor that could explain the correlation between VDT use and headaches?"

Before discussing the answer choices, let's remind ourselves that the correct answer will never undermine a premise, only the conclusion or the relationship between the premises and the conclusion.

Answer Choices:

a) This answer choice does not directly undermine the conclusion that VDTs cause headaches. It only tells us about the workers' participation in health programs, which doesn't necessarily affect the occurrence of headaches.

b) The severity of the headaches does not weaken the conclusion that VDTs cause headaches. It merely introduces a distinction between types of headaches without providing any alternative explanation for their occurrence.

c) This answer choice actually strengthens the researchers' conclusion, as it provides a possible mechanism (eyestrain) through which VDTs could cause headaches. It does not offer an alternative explanation or undermine the data.

d) This is the correct answer choice. If office workers who experienced frequent headaches were more likely to overestimate their VDT usage, then the data used to support the conclusion is flawed, weakening the argument.

e) The fact that job-related stress is the same for VDT users and non-users does not weaken the conclusion that VDTs cause headaches. It only tells us that stress is not a factor in the correlation between VDT use and headaches, without providing any alternative explanation or undermining the data.