People’s supply of willpower is not infinite; psychologists have found that successfully accomplishing one task requiring self-control leads to less persistence on a second, seemingly unrelated task. But that finite supply can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use: a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months.
The reasoning above makes which of the following assumptions?
- A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
- B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
- C. People’s supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
- D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
- E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
Solution
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| People’s supply of willpower is not infinite; psychologists have found that successfully accomplishing one task requiring self-control leads to less persistence on a second, seemingly unrelated task. | What it says: Willpower has limits – using it on one task makes you less persistent on the next task What it does: Sets up the basic premise that willpower gets depleted with use What it is: Research finding/Author’s premise Visualization: Person A completes a difficult math test (uses willpower) ā then gives up faster on solving puzzles compared to Person B who didn’t take the test |
| But that finite supply can become larger, because, like a muscle, willpower grows with use | What it says: Willpower can increase in capacity through practice, similar to how muscles grow stronger What it does: Contrasts with the previous statement and introduces the muscle analogy What it is: Author’s claim Visualization: Week 1: Person can resist 3 temptations before giving in ā Week 8: Same person can resist 8 temptations before giving in (like muscle getting stronger) |
| a recent study showed that people who followed a physical exercise program for two months reported studying more, watching less television, and doing more housework after those two months. | What it says: People in an exercise program improved self-control in other life areas after two months What it does: Provides evidence to support the muscle analogy claim What it is: Study finding Visualization: Before exercise program: Study 2 hrs/day, Watch TV 4 hrs/day, Do housework 1 hr/week ā After 2-month exercise program: Study 4 hrs/day, Watch TV 2 hrs/day, Do housework 3 hrs/week |
Argument Flow:
The argument starts by establishing that willpower is limited and gets depleted with use. It then contrasts this with the idea that willpower can actually grow stronger over time, like a muscle. Finally, it provides evidence from an exercise study to support this muscle-like growth theory.
Main Conclusion:
Willpower can be strengthened through use, similar to how muscles grow stronger with exercise.
Logical Structure:
The argument uses a contrast structure – it acknowledges willpower’s limitations but then argues for its growth potential. The study evidence supports the muscle analogy by showing that people who exercised (one form of willpower training) improved self-control in completely different areas of life.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Assumption – We need to find what the author must believe is true for their reasoning to work. The author concludes that willpower grows like a muscle based on the exercise study evidence.
Precision of Claims
The key claims involve activity/behavioral changes (studying more, watching less TV, doing more housework) and the causal relationship between exercise and willpower strengthening across different domains.
Strategy
To find assumptions, we need to identify gaps in the logic that could falsify the conclusion while keeping the facts intact. The author jumps from ‘people exercised and then showed better self-control behaviors’ to ‘willpower grows like a muscle through use.’ We need to find what must be true for this connection to hold.
Answer Choices Explained
A. Studying, watching television, and doing housework should be considered tasks unrelated to one another.
This choice suggests the argument assumes studying, watching TV, and doing housework are unrelated tasks. However, the argument doesn’t need to assume these activities are unrelated to each other – it only needs to show they’re different from the exercise program itself. The argument works even if these activities are somewhat related, as long as they demonstrate improved self-control across different life domains after the exercise program.
B. The people in the study did not watch less television than the average person before the study took place.
This states that participants didn’t watch less TV than average before the study. This isn’t necessary for the argument to work. Whether participants were average, above-average, or below-average TV watchers initially doesn’t affect the conclusion that their willpower grew through exercise. What matters is that they showed improvement after the program, regardless of their starting point compared to others.
C. People’s supply of willpower cannot be increased by means other than repeatedly exercising that willpower.
This claims the argument assumes willpower can’t be increased by other means besides exercising it. This is too extreme and not required. The argument only needs to show that exercising willpower can strengthen it (like the muscle analogy suggests). The existence of other methods to strengthen willpower doesn’t undermine this particular mechanism.
D. The exercise program followed by the people in the study required more willpower than did whatever exercise they engaged in before the study.
This assumption is crucial for the argument. For the study to demonstrate that willpower grows through use (like a muscle), the exercise program must have required more willpower than participants’ previous exercise habits. If they were already doing equally demanding or more demanding exercise before, then the program wouldn’t represent an increase in willpower training. Without this assumption, we couldn’t attribute the improved self-control behaviors to willpower strengthening through increased use.
E. Prior to the study, the people in the study had unsuccessfully attempted to demonstrate more self-control over their studying, television watching, or housework.
This suggests participants had previously failed to control their studying, TV watching, or housework. This isn’t necessary for the argument. The muscle analogy and conclusion about willpower growth work regardless of whether participants had prior unsuccessful attempts at self-control. What matters is the improvement after the exercise program, not their previous history with these specific behaviors.
