Question

As the information on air warfare tasks and stressors was being gathered and scenarios were being developed, a parallel effort ensued to identify a test bed simulation for air warfare teams. To maintain experimental control, it was determined by the designers that choosing a low physical fidelity simulation was acceptable as long as cognitive fidelity in a team simulation was maintained through subjecting soldiers to pressure situations in a simulated combat setting and attempting to ensure that naturalistic decision making of soldiers would not be compromised.
Which of the following statements, if true, weakens the logic of the above passage?
i. A number of studies have shown that high levels of physical stress lead to a weakening of the decision-making capabilities of human beings.
ii. It has been convincingly demonstrated by various studies that human beings by nature are not designed to adapt to high levels of mental stress.
iii. Numerous studies have shown that simulated environments can be designed to be good substitutes for real-life combat situations.
iv. Studies have shown that simulated exercises for armed forces personnel have tended to induce a systematic type of “correct” and common behaviour among the trainees.
v. Officers, when short-listing soldiers for critical operations, pick up battle-hardened soldiers rather than those who have been trained through simulations.

• A. i and ii
• B. ii and iii
• C. i and iv
• D. i, ii, iv, and v
• E. ii, iii, iv, and v

Hint:

In critical reasoning questions, always locate the core claim of the passage. Then choose statements that directly attack this claim. Avoid picking those that are irrelevant or actually strengthen the argument.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understand the core argument.
The passage argues that low physical fidelity simulations are acceptable because the main requirement is that naturalistic decision making of soldiers in stressful, simulated combat situations should not be compromised. Thus, the central claim is: \emph{as long as decision-making ability is preserved, low physical fidelity simulation is valid}.

Step 2: Identify weakening statements.
To weaken this claim, we need statements that show decision-making \emph{is compromised} or that simulations \emph{cause uniform, artificial behaviour rather than true individual decision making}. - (i) High physical stress weakens decision-making capabilities → directly weakens the assumption that naturalistic decision making remains intact. - (ii) High mental stress affects adaptability → though true, this does not directly negate the passage since it focuses on physical vs. cognitive fidelity distinction. Less relevant. - (iii) Simulated environments as good substitutes → this strengthens, not weakens. - (iv) Simulated exercises cause systematic “common” behaviour → this reduces naturalistic, individual decision making, thus weakens. - (v) Officers prefer battle-hardened soldiers over simulation-trained → while interesting, this is about selection practices, not directly about decision-making ability in simulations.

Step 3: Correct combination.
The statements that best weaken the argument are: - (i) Weakening of decision-making by stress. - (iv) Uniform behaviour undermines individuality in decision-making. \[ \boxed{\text{Answer: C (i and iv)}} \]