Consumer Advocate: The government's proposed new regulations for online advertising, which mandate clearer disclosure of sponsored content, will not effectively protect consumers. Many consumers already ignore existing disclosure labels, and simply making them 'clearer' will not change their behavior. The new regulations will therefore fail to achieve their intended purpose. The consumer advocate's argument relies on the assumption that:
- AConsumers' tendency to ignore disclosure labels is not influenced by changes in clarity.
- BThe effectiveness of disclosure labels is solely dependent on their clarity.
- CThe primary goal of the new regulations is to change consumer behavior regarding sponsored content.
- DConsumers are generally distrustful of online advertising.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Consumers' tendency to ignore disclosure labels is not influenced by changes in clarity.
The advocate claims that making labels 'clearer' won't change behavior because consumers 'already ignore existing disclosure labels.' For this to hold, the advocate must assume that the *reason* consumers ignore labels isn't due to a lack of clarity, and therefore, improving clarity won't make a difference. If clarity *did* influence their tendency to ignore labels, then making them clearer *might* change behavior, thus undermining the argument.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. This is too strong. The argument doesn't claim clarity is the *sole* factor, just that improving it won't help if the underlying behavior (ignoring them) remains unchanged despite clarity.
- C. This is stated or strongly implied by the argument itself, not an unstated assumption. The advocate is arguing that the regulations *won't* achieve their intended purpose.
- D. While possibly true, the argument doesn't require this. It focuses on ignoring labels, not the underlying reason for doing so.
Implicit Assumption (Behavioral)
An unstated belief about human behavior or motivation that is required for an argument's conclusion to logically follow from its premises.
- Connects observed behavior to a prediction
- Often concerns consistency or resistance to change
- Crucial for arguments about effectiveness or failure
Memory trick: Don't assume people will change unless you prove why!