A study of 200 comedy fiction readers revealed the impact of Wodehouse...
The evidence states that the study involved 200 comedy fiction readers who were asked to read at least one Wodehouse novel per day for 12 days. At the end of the experiment, they filled out a survey about their emotional state. It was found that the 10 students who read the greatest number of novels reported lower stress levels and higher energy levels. Additionally, most of the 20 students who read the fewest number of novels revealed below-average levels of emotional comfort.
Now, let's evaluate the answer choices:
(A) A majority of the participants lowered stress levels and reported higher emotional ease. There is no information provided in the evidence about the majority of participants. The evidence only mentions the 10 students who read the greatest number of novels reporting lower stress levels and higher energy levels. Therefore, we cannot conclude that a majority of the participants experienced these outcomes. So, (A) cannot be inferred from the evidence.
(B) During each week of the experiment, the participants spent at least 2 hours less per day on their academic work as a result of reading. There is no information provided in the evidence regarding the participants' time spent on academic work during the experiment. We cannot make any assumptions about the time they spent on academic work based on the given information. Thus, (B) cannot be inferred from the evidence.
(C) Reading Wodehouse’s novels for at least 2 hours per day improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults. The evidence does not explicitly state that reading Wodehouse's novels for at least 2 hours per day improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults. We only know that the 10 students who read the greatest number of novels reported lower stress levels and higher energy levels. So, (C) cannot be inferred from the evidence.
(D) More than 8 participants read at least 14 novels during the course of the experiment. Based on the evidence, we know that there were 10 students who read the greatest number of novels. However, we do not know the exact number of novels they read. The evidence does not provide information about the number of participants who read at least 14 novels. So, (D) cannot be inferred from the evidence.
(E) At least some of the students participated in the study in order to gain free access to Wodehouse’s novels. The evidence does not mention anything about the motivation of the students participating in the study. There is no information provided to support the claim that some students participated in order to gain free access to the novels. Therefore, (E) cannot be inferred from the evidence.
In conclusion, the only statement that can be inferred from the evidence is (D): More than 8 participants read at least 14 novels during the course of the experiment. This can be deduced because it is stated that the 10 students who read the greatest number of novels reported lower stress levels and higher energy levels, indicating that at least some participants read a significant number of novels.