Question

"The correlation between technological intensity and diversification may be spurious, as both may be related to selling to the government or to other dominant customers."

In the above sentence, spurious may refer to all of the following but:

• A. counterfeit
• B. questionable
• C. contrived
• D. forged

Hint:

Spurious means "appears real but is not." Ask which option only works for a physical/tangible fake, not for an abstract statistical relationship.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We are told a correlation "may be spurious" because both variables might really be driven by a third factor (selling to the same big customers). We must find the one word among the choices that does NOT capture this sense of "spurious."

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
A spurious correlation is one that looks genuine on the surface but is not a true cause and effect link. Test each option by asking: does this word comfortably describe an abstract pattern like a correlation, or is it tied to something concrete and physical?

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Counterfeit means made to pass off as genuine, which applies well to a correlation that looks real but is not.
Questionable simply means doubtful or open to challenge, which is a near exact restatement of what "spurious" means here.
Contrived means artificially or falsely produced rather than arising naturally, which again applies to a correlation that is really the by product of a hidden common cause.
Forged is different in kind: it describes deliberately faking a specific physical or documentary item (a signature, a currency note, a certificate). It carries the idea of a person actively manufacturing a fake copy of a tangible thing, a sense that does not stretch naturally to cover an abstract statistical relationship such as a correlation.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Since counterfeit, questionable, and contrived can all describe a correlation that looks real but is not, while forged is tied to faking a physical object and does not fit an abstract correlation, the word that does not belong is "forged."