A finding question that sets one cause against another tests whether you can tell the two causes apart. Read the claim and put both possible causes in a few words. Then ask, what would separate those causes? To support one cause rather than another, you need evidence that shows the first while ruling out the second. Check what the finding keeps the same, because a result that fits both causes can't decide between them.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look at the final sentence for the two proposed reasons for copying. What does rather than ask you to tell apart?
- Hint 2
Count bees and sightings separately. What would let you tell which count drives a bee’s preference?
Step-by-step
Separate group use from repeated sightings
Step 1Put the claim in a few words
The final sentence contrasts most group members use it with whichever behavior a bee witnesses most often. To support the researchers, why isn't evidence of copying enough? Conformity means copying because most group members use a method, while the other possible cause is copying because a method is seen more often. We need to tell those reasons apart.
- Step 2
Predict a finding that separates the causes
Can one bee show a method often without many bees using that method? Yes, so the number of bees and the number of sightings aren't the same. To test rather than merely a tendency to copy, keep sightings equal while changing how many bees demonstrate each method. Then a preference for the more widely used method would support group influence, because it couldn't come from seeing that method more often.
- Step 3
Set aside findings that leave both causes possible
The shown once by each of six bees finding gives one method six sightings and the other only one, so either cause fits. The four of six bees finding compares rewards, while the switched methods finding describes a change in preference. Neither says observers saw both methods equally often, so repeated sightings remain a possible cause.
- Step 4
Compare equal sightings with different numbers of bees
The demonstrated six times by a single bee finding gives both methods six demonstrations: one from each of six bees, or six from one bee. What differs? The number of bees showing each method changes, and observers prefer the method used by six bees. Their preference follows group use, not extra sightings, which supports conformity over the other possible cause. Choice D.