Question

1. normative and positive statements

the following table presents statements analyzing policies regarding colorectal cancer.
classify each of the listed statements as either positive or normative.

statement	positive	normative
colorectal cancer screening greatly lowers the risk of death from colon cancer in individuals between the ages of 45 to 75.	○	○
doctors should encourage people aged 45 to 75 to be screened for colorectal cancer.	○	○
the government should force doctors to encourage people aged 45 to 75 to be screened for colorectal cancer.	○	○

Explanation:

Positive statements describe factual, verifiable claims about what is. Normative statements express value judgments about what should be.

1. "Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death." is a verifiable factual claim.
2. "Colorectal cancer screening greatly lowers the risk of death from colon cancer in individuals between the ages of 45 to 75." is a testable, factual claim about a cause-effect relationship.
3. "Doctors should encourage people aged 45 to 75 to be screened for colorectal cancer." uses "should" to express a value judgment about what ought to be done.
4. "The government should force doctors to encourage people aged 45 to be screened for colorectal cancer." uses "should" to express a prescriptive value judgment.

Answer:

Statement	Positive	Normative
Colorectal cancer screening greatly lowers the risk of death from colon cancer in individuals between the ages of 45 to 75.	Selected
Doctors should encourage people aged 45 to 75 to be screened for colorectal cancer.		Selected
The government should force doctors to encourage people aged 45 to 75 to be screened for colorectal cancer.		Selected