LSAT 150 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q21

LR Question 21 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A chimp who displays feelings of affection toward the…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Affect is similar in humans as in chimps.

REASONING:

• Chimps protect those who feel affection towards them
• Humans protect those who they feel affection towards

ANALYSIS: Did you spot the difference? We humans protect people we like. Chimps, however, protect those that like them.

The argument is assuming that these are the same thing, or that in some way there’s a clearer link between the two states. We need an answer that connects these two. It will probably show that chimps feel affection for those that show affection to them, or that humans show affection to those who feel affection for them.

The LSAT is all about noticing these tiny differences. Ask yourself how you could have spotted this under timed conditions.

___________

1. This is…. extreme. It would mean that if a chimp feels even a tiny bit angry, it will do something behaviorally. That’s extreme… I’m assuming chimps also have some emotional regulation.
   Negation: Chimps don’t always express their emotions behaviourally.
2. CORRECT. If this isn’t true, then chimps never reciprocate affective feelings. This would give us no overlap between what chimps do and what humans do. We need this to be true, and so it’s the necessary assumption.
3. It doesn’t matter if feelings of affection are the only reason. We need to link the human and chimp approaches.
   Negation: Feelings of affection are not the only reason humans protect each other.
4. This doesn’t link our humans and chimps.
   Negation: Chimps sometimes show affection to chimps outside their social group.
5. You may have picked this because you saw that defending group members is altruistic behaviour. While this is true, it doesn’t matter if this is the way they usually display their feelings of affection. We just need the link between the humans protecting those they feel affection for and the chimps protecting those that show them affection.

Recap: The question begins with “A chimp who displays feelings of affection toward the”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn how to master LSAT Necessary questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.