Question 66·Hard·Inferences
Social scientists examining urban car-sharing programs found that a striking proportion of participants who could afford to own a car chose instead to rely exclusively on the shared fleet, even though doing so often cost them more money over time and occasionally left them without a vehicle when demand spiked. The researchers contend that if monetary savings and guaranteed availability were the only motivations for car ownership, such behavior would be irrational. Their observation therefore supports the inference that _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT inference questions, first summarize in your own words what actually happens and how the author or researchers interpret it. Then ask: “What must be true (or is very likely true) for this interpretation to make sense?” Choose the option that follows logically from the evidence without adding new topics, extra details, or predictions.
Hints
Focus on what is surprising
Why is it surprising that these participants choose car-sharing? Pay attention to how their choice compares in cost and availability to owning a private car.
Use the researchers’ conditional statement
Look closely at the sentence starting with "The researchers contend that if monetary savings and guaranteed availability were the only motivations...". What does this tell you about how they interpret the behavior they observed?
Look for what must also be true
The behavior is called irrational only if people care about just two things. But people still behave this way. What does that suggest must be influencing their decision, in addition to those two things? Then find the answer choice that matches that idea.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the researchers observed
First, restate the key details:
- Many participants could afford to own a private car.
- They still chose to rely only on car-sharing.
- This choice often cost them more money over time.
- It also sometimes left them without a vehicle when demand was high.
So these people are willingly accepting higher cost and less reliable availability compared with owning their own car.
Interpret the researchers’ reasoning
The researchers say: if monetary savings and guaranteed availability were the only motivations for car ownership, such behavior would be irrational.
This means that the researchers think the observed behavior makes sense only if there are other motivations at work besides those two.
Draw the inference and match it to a choice
Because participants accept higher costs and occasional lack of access, the passage supports the inference that additional factors beyond cost and guaranteed availability influence some people’s decision not to own a private car.
Choice D states exactly this: factors other than cost and convenience influence some people's decision not to own a private car.