1. Apply your critical thinking skills to the accompanying research study description. Use
the five critical thinking questions provided in the text as a basis for your response.
(a) What am I being asked to believe or accept?
(b) What evidence supports this position?
(c) Are there other ways this evidence could be interpreted?
(d) What other evidence would I need to evaluate these alternatives?
(e) What are the most reasonable conclusions?
A newspaper headline reads "Intellectual pursuits key to preventing Alzheimer's disease?"
The researchers scanned the brains of healthy seniors with no memory loss and asked
the seniors to recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did when they
were growing up. The researchers found that those who reported doing daily brain
activities from a young age had low levels of amyloid plaques that are associated with
Alzheimer's disease. The study involved fewer than 100 participants and could not
account for certain factors that may have confounded the results, including socioeconomic
factors, diet, and overall health behaviors that might also contribute to amyloid plaque
formation and Alzheimer's risk. It also asked participants, whose average age was 76, to
recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did when they were in
elementary school, high school, and as young adults.
