LSAT 150 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Various studies have concluded that song overlapping, the phenomenon…

QUESTION TYPE: Complete the Argument

CONCLUSION: It’s hard to tell what the experiments mean.

REASONING: The experiments on song overlapping only used receiver-response tests. Receiver response tests produce results that can always be interpreted as aggression.

ANALYSIS: When doing a complete the argument question, you should look for structural words to see where the author is going with it. Here, the word “however” is key – it shows that the author disagrees with the experiments.

So, the completion of the argument will be skeptical about the experiments. But, you also must consider the way in which the experiments will likely be skeptical. The author is not saying “the studies are 100%” wrong. Their only critique was that the evidence was limited. Presumably, studies should use something other than receiver-response tests in order to confirm the result. So, the experiments might be correct, we just can’t be sure.

Note that a conclusion can be correct even if the evidence is bad. Suppose I say “You are alive, because the moon is made of green cheese”. The conclusion is that you’re alive. You don’t die if you find out the moon is made of rocks! Arguments don’t have that power.

___________

1. This isn’t supported. The author is implying that we can’t even be sure if birds are being aggressive when their songs overlap.
2. This is too strong. The author’s point was that any response can be interpreted as a reaction to aggression. But, that doesn’t mean receiver-response theory is 100% useless. Sure, it can’t be relied upon to detect aggression on its own, but it might have other uses.
3. This is also too strong, though it’s very tempting. In the argument, we had “Evidence: studies”, “Conclusion: aggression”. The author negated the evidence. But, that never means the conclusion is wrong. It just means we don’t have proof of the conclusion. A conclusion can be right, even if we currently can’t prove it.
4. The author never says this. If song overlapping was useless, then why do birds do it?
5. CORRECT. This is the best answer. The studies were supported by evidence from receiver-response theory. The author has shown this evidence is unconvincing. The conclusion might still be true, but we’d need other studies.

Recap: The question begins with “Various studies have concluded that song overlapping, the phenomenon”. It is a Complete the Argument question. Learn more about LSAT Complete the Argument questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.