LSAT 135 – Section 1 – Question 17

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 17

December 2011

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT135 S1 Q17
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
22%
160
B
1%
154
C
2%
155
D
73%
166
E
2%
159
144
154
164
 +Harder 146.098 +SubsectionMedium

Economist: Some critics of the media have contended that negative news reports on the state of the economy can actually harm the economy because such reports damage people’s confidence in it, and this lack of confidence in turn adversely affects people’s willingness to spend money. But studies show that spending trends correlate very closely with people’s confidence in their own immediate economic situations. Thus these media critics are mistaken.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Some people argue that negative news reports on the economy can hurt the economy, because those reports hurt people’s confidence in the economy, which can affect their spending.

The author concludes that negative news reports on the economy don’t hurt the economy, because spending trends correlate closely with people’s confidence in their own economic situations.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author overlooks the possibility that negative news reports on the economy can decrease people’s confidence in their own economic situations; if this occurs, the reports can still lead to lower spending and damage to the economy.

A
one’s level of confidence in one’s own economic situation affects how one perceives reports about the overall state of the economy
This possibility doesn’t indicate how negative news reports can lead to lower spending. With (A), we have no reason to think that the reports affect confidence in one’s own economic situation.
B
news reports about the state of the economy are not always accurate
The accuracy of reports is irrelevant, because we’re concerned with the effects that reports have on confidence levels in the economy. Reports can affect confidence without being accurate.
C
people who pay no attention to economic reports in the media always judge accurately whether their own economic situation is likely to deteriorate or improve
The argument concerns how news reports can affect people generally. There might be some people who don’t pay any attention to reports in the media; news reports may or may not have effects on people overall, regardless of the existence of people who don’t pay attention to media.
D
people who have little confidence in the overall economy generally take a pessimistic view concerning their own immediate economic situations
(D) points out how news reports might still harm the economy by decreasing people’s confidence in their own economic situations through decreasing confidence in the overall economy.
E
an economic slowdown usually has a greater impact on the economic situations of individuals if it takes people by surprise than if people are forewarned
The comparative effects of a surprise slowdown vs. an expected slowdown has no impact on whether news reports can affect the economy.

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LSAT PrepTest 135 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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