LSAT 126 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q2

LR Question 2 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: It is well documented that people have positive responses…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: People’s responses to words depend on their sound as well as their meaning.

REASONING: This is a good argument. It gives us two facts. People have conditioned responses to words. Interestingly, we also have preset responses to nonsensical words such as “blegearch” and “splurf.” This adequately supports the conclusion.

ANALYSIS: The question asks what role the nonsense word claim plays in the argument. It serves as evidence.

The conclusion is that word responses are shaped not just by meaning, but also by sound. Since nonsense words have no meaning, yet still provoke reactions, that supports the idea that sound plays an independent role. So the point about nonsense words functions as a premise directly supporting the conclusion.

___________

1. The conclusion does not say we have positive or negative responses to any word. The stimulus only tells us that we react to “many” nonsense words.
2. This gets it backwards. If you have trouble identifying which is which, keep an eye out for phrases such as “this shows,” which usually indicate a conclusion, including in this case.
3. This is not a generalization; the study examined specific words. The conclusion makes a generalization based on this evidence. Further, this premise certainly doesn’t depend on support from what we know about meaningful words.
4. CORRECT. Yes. This leads directly to the conclusion when we combine it with the first premise. We can figure out the final sentence is the conclusion because it says “this shows.”
5. This isn’t the conclusion, and the stimulus doesn’t claim that our reactions in experimental situations are different from those in everyday life.

Recap: The question begins with “It is well documented that people have positive responses”. It is a Role in Argument question. Learn more about LSAT Role questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.