PrepTest 134 - Section 4 - Passage 3 - Question 19

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Passage A.

Context · Evolutionary psychology is a lens to explain human behavior

Human behavior is explained by how it contributes to the reproductive success of individuals exhibiting that behavior.

Problem / Phenonemon · What's the explanation for altruism?

Altruism is behavior that seems to benefit others at one's own expense.

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Answer / Hypothesis · Psychology of identification and empathy

Because humans share genes with relatives, altruistic behavior could have arisen because it helped spread those genes. E.g., mother rushing to help a child promotes the survival of their shared genes.

Answer / Hypothesis · Altruism applied to groups and later even to larger communities

Altruism could have applied at the group level since kin share genes. Later, it could have applied to non-kin community

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Skepticism · about evolutionary psychology

A parent's interest in helping their child is just that. There's no need to explain it in terms of genes conspiring to propagate themselves.

Monogamy · as explained via evolutionary psychology

Human offspring are slow to mature. Hence, to ensure their maturity and the spread of genes, humans form monogamous families. Presumably monogamous families are better able to raise offspring to maturity.

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Skepticism · of evolutionary psychology's explanation

Author acknowledges that the evolutionary psychology explanation could be right but there are alternative explanations. Author requires the elimination of other explanations. Author believes that some motives don't require further scrutiny, e.g., a parent's motive to promote a child's well-being.

Passage Style

19.

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Question Type

Author’s perspective

Implied

Passage B believes that arguments like those made in Passage A – arguments that try to explain human behavior in terms of genes’ interest in spreading – make an assumption that’s wrong. The correct answer will describe this mistaken assumption.

The correct answer will not simply be a statement that Passage B disagrees with. It must be something that Passage B disagrees with, and that Passage B believes is an assumption underlying Passage A.

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There’s no evidence that Passage B believes Passage A assumes that “most” physical features of modern humans resulted from evolutionary pressures. There’s no discussion of the origin of physical features of humans.

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Does Passage B suggest that Passage A believes any action performed by an early human was caused by genes’ interest in self-propagation? No. Passage B raises two specific behaviors that evolutionary psychologists believe are explained by genes’ interest in self-propagation – monogamous families and the promotion of the welfare of one’s children. But there’s no evidence that Passage B thinks evolutionary psychologists believe every single action of early humans is explained by genes’ interest in self-propagation. Jogging, scratching oneself, pooping - Passage B doesn't necessarily believe Passage A would find those actions to be based on genes' self-propagation. So, even though Passage B would disagree with the statement in (B), (B) is wrong, because Passage B never suggests that it’s an assumption of evolutionary psychologists.

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Passage B does accuse arguments like those in Passage A of making this assumption. (C) is another way of wording the assumption that if a human behavior can be explained by an interest in genes' self-propagation, then there’s no other explanation we need to consider. In other words, if a type of behavior can be explained by an interest in genes’ self-propagation, that is enough (sufficient) to show that an interest in genes’ self-propagation is the evolutionary explanation for that behavior.

So, we’ve established that (C) is something Passage B believes is assumed by evolutionary psychologists. Does Passage B believe this assumption is mistaken? Absolutely. Passage B’s main criticism is that evolutionary psychologists overlook the possibility of other explanations. According to Passage B, evolutionary psychologists take the fact that a behavior could be explained by genes’ interest in self-propagation as conclusive evidence that this is the explanation for that behavior. But this is wrong – the fact that a behavior could be explained by genes’ interest in self-propagation is not sufficient to make that explanation correct.

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Evolutionary psychology can ██ ████ ██ ███████ █████ ████████ ███ ███ ██████ █████████ █████ ██████ ████████ ██ ██████ ███████ ██ █████████

There’s no evidence that Passage B believes Passage A assumes that evolutionary psychology cannot be used to explain animal behavior. A distinction between humans and animals is never raised in Passage B.

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Passage B doesn’t discuss any behaviors that “hindered” reproductive success, so there’s no evidence that it believes Passage A assumes (E).

PrepTest 134 - Section 4 - Passage 3 - Question 19

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