LSAT 148 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q9

LR Question 9 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Some managers think that the best way to maximize…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Stiff competition can reduce performance.

REASONING: Stiff competition can make people anxious.

ANALYSIS: On sufficient assumption questions, first split the conclusion apart:

Competition Performance

Then, fill in the evidence:

Competition ➞ anxious Performance

Now the gap is obvious. We need to show that anxiety reduces performance.

This “split apart” method works extremely well, when it works. Note that on the most recent LSATs, questions that allow it have been appearing less frequently. Perhaps LSAC noticed people had caught on to the pattern.

___________

1. The stimulus didn’t say that perceived superiors win. It just said they make others anxious.
2. The point of the stimulus wasn’t to find a winner. It was to show competition makes people less productive.
3. This is a trap. Winnable ➞ performance isn’t the same thing as “winnable ➞ performance“. That’s an incorrect negation.
4. CORRECT. See the analysis above. Stiff competition can make people doubt, and so therefore it can reduce performance.
5. The stimulus didn’t say that those who were superior worked to lower the confidence of others. Instead, confidence was lowered merely as a byproduct of the perceived superiority.

Recap: The question begins with “Some managers think that the best way”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question. To practice more Sufficient Assumption questions, have a look at the LSAT Questions by Type page.