A graph question with several groups and measures tests whether the numbers support every part of a claim. Read the claim first, and list each part it asks you to show, including the groups and measures being compared. Then read the title, axes, and key so you know which bars belong together and what higher values mean. Compare the same measure across groups to check each part. A choice can report true numbers and still fail to support part of the claim.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look at the two parts of the student’s conclusion. What does each part ask you to check for trust and expected inflation?
- Hint 2
For each announcement with purchases, compare both ratings with the neutral ratings. How much does trust change, and how much does expected inflation change?
Step-by-step
Test both parts against the graph
Step 1Separate the claim’s two parts
The student says simply mentioning bond purchases need not lower trust or raise expected inflation, but an open-ended description both reduces trust and raises inflation expectations. What must the data show? Both parts need support, so we’ll check both ratings under each announcement type.
- Step 2
Read the scale and key
The title, axes, and key organize participants’ reactions by announcement type and measure. How do we read the bars? Each is a mean rating from 1 to 7, with higher meaning more trust or more expected inflation, so we compare the announcements within each measure.
- Step 3
Check what temporary purchases change
Compare temporary purchases with neutral: does simply mentioning bond purchases have the effects named in the claim? Trust is about 5.0 under neutral and 4.9 under temporary, a difference of only 0.1, while expected inflation is about 3.2 under both. Temporary purchases barely change either rating, which supports the first part of the claim.
- Step 4
Check both effects of open-ended purchases
What happens with an open-ended announcement? Compared with neutral, trust falls from about 5.0 to 4.3, while expected inflation rises from about 3.2 to 4.1, so it both reduces trust and raises inflation expectations. Both effects hold, so the choice saying temporary purchases change trust and inflation very little but open-ended purchases lower trust and raise expected inflation supports the full claim. Choice B.