LSAT 146 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q5

LR Question 5 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Researchers asked 100 fifty-year-olds and 100 twenty…

QUESTION TYPE: Method of Reasoning

CONCLUSION: We should be skeptical of the survey results.

REASONING: Many people are reluctant to say that their actions go against social norms.

ANALYSIS: The context of the argument is a survey showing that, compared to 20 year olds, more 50 year olds reported giving blood.

The argument undermines this by pointing out that sometimes people aren’t truthful in surveys when their behavior violates social norms. So it’s possible the survey is wrong, if social expectations differ between 20 and 50 year olds.

___________

1. This didn’t happen.
    
   Example of answer: The study was flawed, because the 20 years olds were all members of the “campus society for cruel behavior”, and the 50 year olds were volunteers for the Red Cross.
2. CORRECT. Increasingly, the LSAT tests your ability to see which concepts are equivalent. Here, the original explanation is altruism, and “alternative explanation” = “the survey respondents might have lied in order to conform to social norms”.
3. The author of the stimulus didn’t say this. They might agree you could directly observe altruism. For example, by observing a group of 20 year olds and 50 year olds as they went about their daily lives.
4. This didn’t happen.
    
   Example of answer: The researchers are wrong, because they only care about money and prestige!
5. This didn’t happen.
    
   Example of answer: The survey seems compelling. However, in another recent survey, many more 20 year olds gave blood, as compared to 50 year olds. So the first survey isn’t conclusive.