PT62.S4.Q22 - Allergies in children

Ashley2018-1

Why is A incorrect? Wouldn't this reinforce that connection between exposure to germs and a higher number of family members as being the reason why the kids have lower incidence of allergies?

Admin Note: https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-62-section-4-question-22/

hopefulling

'A' not only refers to average, but also weakens the conclusion.

As the conclusion says that: exposure to germs in infancy makes people less likely to develop allergies. There's an underlying assumption that 'more kids = more germs' and 'less kids = less germs,' with the conclusion then that 'more germs = fewer allergies.' 'More kids - more germs - fewer allergies'

So for 'A,' 'fewer (average) kids = fewer allergies;' it negates that above assumption that 'more kids = more germs. It takes germs out of the equation in reference to number of children (where, for the conclusion to be true, in this instance someone with a few kids could be as germ-y as a household with lots of children, to work with the conclusion that germs are correlated to a decrease in allergies). For 'A' to be true, there needs to be the embedded assumption that most of the households (or all) still have lots of germs.

'E' links the correlation of germ exposure to allergy reduction, as it takes those families with a few children and when they're turned into a family of 'large children' (daycare exposure to germs), suddenly those children's allergies are reduced. It strengthens (supports) that causal relationship between the premise and conclusion. This answer choice doesn't need any additional assumptions to be true at face value, so it strengthens the best.