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Consider these lines: "However, there is some evidence suggesting that the dramatic changes in Gage's personality were exaggerated and embellished. Gage's case occurred in the midst of a 19th century debate over whether certain areas of the brain are associated with particular functions. On the basis of extremely limited information, scientists tended to find support for their own views, on whichever side of the debate they fell." What is the main point of the quoted lines?
AGage's personality change was the century's best-documented case
BBrain areas have no association with particular functions
CNineteenth-century scientists refused to study Gage at all
DAccounts of Gage's change may be unreliable, shaped by a scientific debate
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Accounts of Gage's change may be unreliable, shaped by a scientific debate
1. The opening However signals a caution against the famous story of Gage's transformation.
2. The evidence given is that the reports were exaggerated and embellished.
3. The explanation offered is motivated reasoning: partisans in a live scientific debate read scanty facts their own way.
4. So the main point is that the accounts may be unreliable because the debate shaped them, option D.
5. Option A says the opposite of extremely limited information, and option C confuses biased study with no study.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 3 "Biopsychology", section 3.4 The Brain and Spinal Cord_
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