How might the following categorical claim be qualified through hedging? Watching violent programs is a cause of bad behaviour in children.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Hedging adds a qualifier that reduces the certainty of a categorical claim, for example by introducing probability words such as “likely,” “may,” or “could.”

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Categorical claim: presents a cause or fact as certain (e.g., “X is a cause of Y”).
- Hedging: softens certainty by inserting qualifiers (probability, possibility, correlation language) to reflect uncertainty or complexity in evidence.
- Common hedges: “likely,” “may,” “could,” “appears to,” “is associated with.”

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- Original sentence: “Watching violent programs is a cause of bad behaviour in children.” This states a direct causal relationship with no uncertainty.
- To hedge, we must add language that expresses probability or reduces certainty while keeping the causal connection.
- Option (d) changes “is a cause of” to “is likely to cause,” which explicitly introduces probabilistic uncertainty while preserving a causal implication.
- Alternatives either remove the causal framing (b), state absolute causation in a stronger form (a, c), or are vague.

3. (No calculations required.)

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- “Is likely to cause” precisely performs hedging: it admits that watching violent programs increases the probability of bad behaviour but does not claim it is the sole or certain cause. It acknowledges complexity and uncertainty typical in social/behavioural claims.

5. Why other options are incorrect
- (a) “is why children behave badly” asserts a definitive single cause and is stronger than the original; not hedging.
- (b) “are connected” shifts to correlation/association and becomes vaguer, removing the causal framing rather than hedging it.
- (c) “will cause” increases certainty (predictive certainty), making the claim stronger and less cautious than the original.

6. Conclusion
- Option d (“Watching violent programs is likely to cause bad behaviour in children.”) correctly hedges the categorical claim. This matches the provided correct answer.

How might the following categorical claim be qualified through hedging? Watching violent programs is a cause of bad behaviour in children.Single choice

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