LSAT 126 – Section 3 – Question 03

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Question
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Type Tags Answer
Choices
Curve Question
Difficulty
Psg/Game/S
Difficulty
Explanation
PT126 S3 Q03
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
Rule-Application +RuleApp
A
1%
151
B
93%
163
C
2%
151
D
0%
153
E
4%
157
128
137
147
+Easier 144.364 +SubsectionEasier


J.Y.’s explanation

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Psychiatrist: Breaking any habit is difficult, especially when it involves an addictive substance. People who break a habit are more likely to be motivated by immediate concerns than by long-term ones. Therefore, people who succeed in breaking their addiction to smoking cigarettes are more likely to be motivated by the social pressure against smoking—which is an immediate concern—than by health concerns, since _______.

Summarize Argument
People who successfully stop smoking are more motivated by social pressure (an urgent concern) than health concerns. This is because people who break habits are more motivated by urgent concerns than distant ones.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that health concerns are not urgent concerns for most people who quit smoking.

A
a habit that involves an addictive substance is likely to pose a greater health threat than a habit that does not involve any addictive substance
This does not affect the argument. The magnitude of the threat is not relevant to the argument, which is focused on the urgency of a threat.
B
for most people who successfully quit smoking, smoking does not create an immediate health concern at the time they quit
This strengthens the argument. It provides support for the author’s assumption that health is not a pressing concern for most people when they quit smoking.
C
some courses of action that exacerbate health concerns can also relieve social pressure
This does not affect the argument. (C) says some actions that make health issues worse can make social pressure better. This is not relevant to the argument, which is about what motivates people to stop smoking cigarettes (which we can’t assume is one of the actions described).
D
most people who succeed in quitting smoking succeed only after several attempts
This does not affect the argument. The psychiatrist already notes that breaking a habit is difficult, and is more concerned with what motivates someone to try hard enough to succeed in breaking the habit.
E
everyone who succeeds in quitting smoking is motivated either by social pressure or by health concerns
This does not affect our argument, as (E) doesn’t tell us anything about how many people fall into either category. It may strengthen the argument if most people quit because of social pressure. It would weaken it if most people quit because of health concerns.

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