Question

Beautiful beaches attract people, no doubt about it. Just look at this city's beautiful beaches, which are among the most overcrowded beaches in the state. Which of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning most similar to the one exhibited in the argument above?

• A. Moose and bear usually appear at the same drinking hole at the same time of day. Therefore, moose and bear must grow thirsty at about the same time.
• B. Children who are scolded severely tend to misbehave more often than other children. Hence if a child is not scolded severely that child is less likely to misbehave.
• C. This software programme helps increase the work efficiency of its users. As a result, these users have more free time for other activities.
• D. During warm weather my dog suffers from fleas more than during cooler weather. Therefore, fleas must thrive in a warm environment.

Hint:

Look for the option that also jumps from one specific personal example straight to a sweeping general claim.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept.
The original argument takes one specific, local example (this city's crowded beaches) and uses it to support a general claim (beautiful beaches attract people everywhere). The pattern is: specific single example leads to a broad, general rule.

Step 2: Check option A.
This argument infers a shared cause (thirst) from a shared behaviour (drinking together), which is a different kind of reasoning (inferring cause from correlation), not a single example generalised to a broad rule.

Step 3: Check option B.
This argument flips a correlation into its reverse implication (scolding causes misbehaviour, so no scolding means less misbehaviour), a different logical move again.

Step 4: Check option C.
This argument draws a direct effect (more free time) from a stated cause (efficiency), which is a simple cause-to-effect claim, not a generalisation from one example.

Step 5: Check option D.
This argument uses one specific case (my dog, more fleas in warm weather) to conclude a general rule (fleas thrive in warm environments), exactly matching the beach argument's structure.

Step 6: Final Answer.
Option D shows the same “specific example to general rule” reasoning pattern, so it is correct.