LSAT 127 – Section 1 – Question 16

LSAT 127 - Section 1 - Question 16

December 2003

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT127 S1 Q16
+LR
+Exp
Argument part +AP
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
A
12%
161
B
4%
157
C
13%
159
D
3%
157
E
68%
164
140
153
166
 +Harder 147.168 +SubsectionMedium

Psychologist: The obligation to express gratitude cannot be fulfilled anonymously. However much society may have changed over the centuries, human psychology is still driven primarily by personal interaction. Thus, the important social function of positively reinforcing those behaviors that have beneficial consequences for others can be served only if the benefactor knows the source of the gratitude.

Summarize Argument
You can't fulfill the obligation to express gratitude anonymously. Human psychology is still primarily influenced by personal interaction, so to positively reinforce generous behavior, the person being thanked needs to know who is expressing the thanks.

Identify Argument Part
The stimulus text refers to the main conclusion of the argument: the obligation to express gratitude can’t be fulfilled anonymously because a person’s generous behavior will only be positively reinforced if the person knows who is expressing the thanks.

A
It is an illustration of a premise that is used to support the argument’s conclusion.
The claim is the overall conclusion. It does not support any other statement in the stimulus, so it cannot be an illustration of a premise in the argument.
B
It is used to counter a consideration that might be taken to undermine the argument’s conclusion.
The claim is the overall conclusion. This answer describes a premise, which would support the conclusion by anticipating and refuting an attack on it. Since the stimulus text is the conclusion, it cannot be a premise of the argument.
C
It is used to support indirectly a claim that the argument in turn uses to support directly the conclusion.
The stimulus text is the overall conclusion. It does not support any other statement in the stimulus, so it cannot be either direct or indirect support for another claim.
D
It is used to identify the social benefit with which the argument is concerned.
The stimulus text is the overall conclusion. The argument focuses on reinforcing generous behavior, which benefits society. However, this benefit is mentioned in a premise as a reason why the obligation to express gratitude cannot be fulfilled anonymously.
E
It is the conclusion that the argument is intended to support.
This describes the role of the first sentence in the overall argument. The psychologist begins with her conclusion and spends the rest of the stimulus explaining how she reached that conclusion.

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LSAT PrepTest 127 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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