LSAT 8 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q22

LR Question 22 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Psychologists today recognize childhood as a separate…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle (Strengthen)

CONCLUSION: It is time to research the psychology of old age.

REASONING: We have now recognized that children are not simply very young adults. Old age is also fundamentally different from middle ages, as the organization of society attests.

ANALYSIS: The way society is organized doesn’t necessarily tell us how we are. It’s the nature vs. nurture debate. Are the elderly truly different by their very nature? Or are they the way they are because of how society has developed?

Society treats them different but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are different. Our principle has to support the idea that the elderly have a different psychology.

We have no indication that psychology conflicts with traditional attitudes. Traditional views aren’t mentioned.

If you read this carefully, it’s saying that we shouldn’t view middle aged people (the first group) as deviant elderly people (the second group). Huh?

___________

1. This tells us what to do when traditional attitudes conflict with current practice, but we’re trying to establish that old age has a distinct psychology in the first place.
2. You could also apply it to children to claim that they shouldn’t be viewed as deviant adults. But we’ve already figured that out: it doesn’t help us show that the elderly have a distinct psychology.
3. We’re trying to show that old age should be approached differently. The principle helps us conclude the opposite.
4. CORRECT. This shows that if society treats to age groups differently then society has caused each age group to develop a distinct psychology. So it makes sense to study the psychology of the elderly.
5. This tells us what to do if we accept that the elderly have a distinct psychology. But we haven’t gotten to that point yet. We need something to support the idea that they do have a distinct psychology.

Recap: The question begins with “Psychologists today recognize childhood as a separate”. It is a Principle question. Learn more about LSAT Principle questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.