Core Knowledge and Principles
Building the knowledge base
Core knowledge questions test whether you can apply foundational concepts rather than recite definitions. Expect items on terminology precision, theoretical models and their assumptions, cause versus correlation, validity and reliability, and levels of evidence. You should be able to state what a model predicts, what it cannot explain, and when a simpler explanation is preferable.
Reasoning under uncertainty
A frequent trap is the absolute statement - words like always, never, guarantees, or proves usually signal a wrong option unless the principle is genuinely categorical. Another trap is the plausible-but-unsupported option: it sounds sophisticated but overstates what the evidence allows. Distinguish necessary conditions from sufficient ones; many errors come from treating one as the other.
Integrating principles
Strong answers connect principle to context: a general rule may have exceptions defined by setting, population, or risk level. Candidates should be comfortable ranking options by strength of evidence and by logical entailment.
Rule of thumb
Ask of each option: What would have to be true for this to hold? If the option requires an unstated assumption, it is probably not the best answer. Prefer the option that is defensible across the widest range of ordinary conditions.
Worked example
An item asks which conclusion follows from a finding that two variables move together. They are causally linked is wrong; they are associated, and causation is not established is correct. The principle: correlation constrains but does not determine causal inference without design or mechanism.