Saeed M.Z.A. Tarabieh conducted a study of consumer attitudes toward Jordanian food and beverage companies and found that for consumers who value environmental conservation, their likelihood of purchasing a product decreased when their perception of the product’s risk of causing environmental harm increased. Subsequently, other researchers conducted a study of various demographic groups in Vietnam, investigating participants’ intentions to purchase a new skin-care product, and found that, on average, parents of small children had the lowest perception among all the demographic groups in the study of the environmental risks of the skin-care product. Assuming that the results of Tarabieh’s study are broadly applicable, this finding suggests that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Explanation
Context: Saeed M.Z.A. Tarabieh's study of Jordanian food and beverage consumers found that among people who value environmental conservation, purchase likelihood dropped as their perceived environmental risk of a product rose. A separate study of Vietnamese demographic groups' intentions to buy a new skin-care product found parents of small children had the lowest perceived environmental risk of any group studied. Assuming Tarabieh's pattern generalizes, the blank asks what this low perceived-risk finding implies about parents' purchasing behavior.
Answer: D) parents of small children might be more likely than participants in the other demographic groups to purchase the skin-care product.
Why? Lowest perceived environmental harm → highest purchase likelihood per Tarabieh's established relationship. D states the prediction for parents of small children.
Traps:
- A) parents of small children prioritize other factors over environmental concerns → introduces an alternative motivation not established
- B) there is not a meaningful difference between groups → contradicts "lowest perception among all demographic groups"
- C) the skin-care product is less appealing to parents of small children → directly contradicts the low-perceived-harm finding