CAT Critical Reasoning Practice question with Solution 28

Suicide rates in October and November of 1929: tidal wave or a ripple in a kiddie pool? The author certainly believes that the so-called “suicide wave” following the stock market crash in October 1929 was not such a big deal. In support, the author notes that the suicide rates in October and November of 1929 were lower than the rates for the months before the crash. We need to weaken that argument, meaning that we are looking for a choice suggesting that suicide rates in those months were in fact unusually high. The whole key here is: high as compared to what? We know October and November were no big deal compared to the other months in 1929, but maybe a better comparison would be with the suicide rates in Octobers and Novembers of the surrounding years. This makes for a better comparison because it eliminates other seasonal factors that might come into play when analysing suicide rates throughout the year. Choice (C) picks up this distinction. When viewed in comparison with other October-November periods, 1929 does in fact seem like a high suicide period. Thus (C) weakens the argument.

(A) is out of the scope. The issue is whether the suicide rates were unusually high during the period mentioned and not the root causes of suicide in general.

(B) and (D) strengthen the argument. If October and November (or late months in general) typically have high suicide rates as compared to other months, then lower rates for those months in 1929 would support the author’s view that the “suicide wave” was in fact more myth than reality.

(E) doesn’t affect the argument either way: knowing that suicide rates are expected to be different in different seasons doesn’t tell us whether the results in 1929 were unusually high or low