LSAT 157 – Section 2 – Question 18

LSAT 157 - Section 2 - Question 18

June 2020

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT157 S2 Q18
+LR
Sufficient assumption +SA
A
6%
150
B
1%
148
C
54%
163
D
22%
152
E
17%
149
148
156
164
 +Harder 143.482 +SubsectionEasier

In an experiment, each of 200 randomly selected people was videotaped while describing action-packed excerpts from previously unfamiliar cartoons. Half the subjects were allowed to gesture while speaking, and the other half were not. Those who gestured spoke more quickly and repeated themselves less. This indicates that gesturing helps speakers quickly find the phrases they want.

Summary
The author concludes that gesturing helps speakers quickly find the phrases they want. This is supported by an experiment.
A group of randomly selected people was divided into two groups. One group was allowed to gesture while describing action-packed scenes from cartoons. Another group was NOT allowed to gesture while describing those scenes.
There was a correlation between gesturing and speaking more quickly, as well as repeating one’s self less often.

Missing Connection
The conclusion brings up the new concept of “helping speakers quickly find the phrases they want.” The premises don’t say anything about helping speakers quickly find the phrases they want. Rather, the premises simply describe an experiment in which those who gestured while describing scenes from a cartoon spoke more quickly and repeated themselves less. But the correlation between gesturing and speaking quickly / repeating less often doesn’t prove a causal relationship. We want to establish that the experiment proves gesturing “helps speakers quickly find the phrases they want.”

A
Ordinarily almost everyone regularly gestures when speaking quickly and with little repetition, regardless of the topic being discussed.
(A) doesn’t establish that gesturing helps people quickly find the phrases they want. It simply establishes that most people under ordinary conditions regularly use gestures. But it doesn’t create a causal relationship between gesturing and speaking more quickly / repeating one’s self less often.
B
The cartoons were chosen by those who conducted the experiment and were selected from a variety of sources.
The origin of the cartoons that were described has no impact on the reasoning. We want to establish that gesturing helps people find phrases more quickly. (B) doesn’t do that.
C
Any form of behavior correlated with quicker speech and less repetition in speech helps speakers find the phrases they want quickly.
The premises describe an experiment in which gesturing was correlated with quicker speech and less repetition. According to (C), then, the correlation observed in the experiment would establish that gesturing helps speakers find the phrases they want quickly.
D
Any form of behavior that helps speakers quickly find the phrases they want also enables them to speak more quickly and repeat themselves less than they would if they were not engaged in that behavior.
We want to prove that gesturing helps speakers quickly find the phrases they want. We don’t want an answer that tells us what happens IF gesturing helps speakers quickly find the phrases they want. In other words, we’re looking for “gesturing correlated with speaking quickly / less repeats → helps speakers find phrases quickly.” (E) puts “helps speakers find phrases quickly” on the left side of the arrow.
E
Of the subjects who were allowed to gesture, those who spoke the most quickly and repeated themselves least were among those who gestured the most.
(E) might strengthen the argument by strengthening the correlation between gesturing and speaking faster / repeating less. But it doesn’t prove, with 100% certainty, a causal relationship.

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LSAT PrepTest 157 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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