LSAT 159 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q16

LR Question 16 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A recent study carefully tracked the specific behaviors of …

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: Chimpanzee behavioral differences are likely caused by culture, not genetics.

REASONING: One East African chimpanzee behaved more like the West African groups than the other East African groups.

ANALYSIS: I found this question quite difficult personally. The argument is quite weak, and doesn’t do much to show that culture is the cause rather than genetics. So almost any support for culture will help.

The key is using the right definition of culture. My dictionary has seven definitions, and this is the one the author is using here:

>Culture: the customs of a social group

That can be as simple as something you see someone else doing, and start doing yourself. If enough people copy you, then you have a culture. The same goes for chimpanzees.

So, if we do anything to show social behavior leading to changes within a chimp group, we’ve strengthened the argument.

___________

1. CORRECT. If chimps learn from each other, not from genes, then it makes sense that an East African group could pick up behaviors from West African groups. Copying someone is a form of culture.
2. This introduces genetic differences as well as behavioral ones. It doesn’t tell us which one is more determinative.
3. This introduces a third plausible cause: environmental challenges. We want to support culture as the cause.
4. Distinctiveness alone doesn’t indicate whether behaviors arise from culture, genetics, or something else.
    
   Strengthen answers generally have to work on their own and not require a second, additional assumption. (e.g. The groups are distinct and this distinctness is due to culture)
5. Closer could mean 1% closer. And that doesn’t mean close: all of the chimpanzee groups in question could live far from each other and not influence each other outside of their groups.