LSAT (Law School Admission Test)Logical ReasoningEasy
Manager: Our company's new employee wellness program, which offers free gym memberships and nutrition counseling, has been a resounding success. Since its implementation six months ago, employee productivity has increased by 15%, and sick days have decreased by 20%. Clearly, the wellness program is directly responsible for these improvements.
- AThe manager does not provide data on the specific health improvements experienced by individual employees.
- BThe manager overlooks the possibility that the program might be too expensive to justify the productivity gains.
- CThe manager fails to consider that employees might be using their free gym memberships less frequently than expected.
- DThe manager assumes that no other factors could have contributed to the observed improvements in productivity and sick days.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. The manager assumes that no other factors could have contributed to the observed improvements in productivity and sick days.
The manager observes a correlation (wellness program implementation followed by improved metrics) and directly attributes causation. This jump to causation assumes no other events or initiatives could have also influenced productivity and sick days during the same period.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. While useful, individual health data isn't necessary for the argument's conclusion about group productivity and sick days, nor does its absence represent the core flaw.
- B. This concerns the program's cost-effectiveness, which is outside the scope of the argument about its effectiveness in improving employee metrics.
- C. This would weaken the argument, but the core flaw is the assumption of sole causation.
Causal Flaw (LSAT)
An error in reasoning where an argument mistakenly concludes a cause-and-effect relationship without sufficient evidence, often confusing correlation with causation or overlooking alternative causes.
- Correlation does not equal causation.
- Must consider alternative causes or explanations.
- Often involves 'post hoc ergo propter hoc' fallacy.
Memory trick: Don't assume 'after this' means 'because of this'.