A.THE PROBLEM WITH THIS STATEMENT IS THAT IT MAY REVERSE CAUSATION...

45. a.The problem with this statement is that it may reverse causation. Perhaps Lotta made new friendsafter she came out of her shell, but it is equally possible that Lotta’s new friends helped her come outof her shell. Lotta’s accomplishments at work may have helped her come out of her shell (choice b),but that is not a relevant criticism of the argument; it has nothing to do with the question of makingfriends after coming out her shell. The level of intimacy of her new friendships (choice c) is also irrele-vant to an analysis of the argument because it does not make any claims about the depth of the rela-tionships. If Lotta often has periods of introversion (choice d), then she also has periods of coming outof her shell, so this is not relevant (again, it does not address the cause/effect issue). If Lotta is verylikeable (choice e), it might explain an ease in making new friends or the number of new friends, but itdoes not connect the two pieces of the statement.