LSAT 140 – Section 3 – Question 03

LSAT 140 - Section 3 - Question 03

December 2013

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT140 S3 Q03
+LR
Resolve reconcile or explain +RRE
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
2%
160
B
90%
165
C
1%
153
D
1%
154
E
6%
159
127
139
150
 +Easier 149.74 +SubsectionMedium

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When chimpanzees become angry at other chimpanzees, they often engage in what primatologists call “threat gestures”: grunting, spitting, or making abrupt, upsweeping arm movements. Chimpanzees also sometimes attack other chimpanzees out of anger. However, when they do attack, they almost never take time to make threat gestures first. And, conversely, threat gestures are rarely followed by physical attacks.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do chimps usually fail to follow up threat gestures with physical attacks?

Objective
The correct answer should help show why threat gestures usually aren’t followed by physical attacks. Note that the question stem does not require us to explain why physical attacks aren’t preceded by threat gestures.

A
Chimpanzees engage in threat gestures when they are angry in order to preserve or enhance social status.
This explains why threat gestures are performed, but doesn’t explain why they aren’t followed by physical attacks. Wouldn’t chimps still want to attack others they’re angry at, even if they’ve demonstrated their status?
B
Making threat gestures helps chimpanzees vent aggressive feelings and thereby avoid physical aggression.
If threat gestures can help chimps vent and thereby avoid physical aggression, this explain why the gestures usually don’t result in physical attacks. The gestures help reduce the chimp’s aggressive feelings, which reduces the likelihood of physical attacks.
C
Threat gestures and physical attacks are not the only means by which chimpanzees display aggression.
This doesn’t change our expectations about threat gestures. If they’re means of displaying aggression, wouldn’t we expect physical attacks to follow?
D
Chimpanzees often respond to other chimpanzees’ threat gestures with threat gestures of their own.
But why don’t chimps usually attack each other after making threat gestures? We still don’t know.
E
The chimpanzees that most often make threat gestures are the ones that least often initiate physical attacks.
This deepens our confusion. Why are threat gestures rarely followed by physical attacks? This answer merely points out an extreme example of threats not being followed by attacks. We still don’t know why the attacks fail to occur.

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LSAT PrepTest 140 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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