Psychologist: Although studies of young children have revealed importa

Question

Psychologist: Although studies of young children have revealed important facts about the influence of the environment on language acquisition, it is clear that one cannot attribute such acquisition solely to environmental influences: innate mechanisms also play a role. So, the most reasonable question that ought to be studied is whether _____________.

Which one of the following most logically completes the passage?

(A) language acquisition can ever be fully explained

(B) innate mechanisms are a contributing factor in language learning

(C) language acquisition is solely the product of innate mechanisms

(D) parents and peers are the most important influence on a child’s learning of a language

(E) innate mechanisms play a more important role in language acquisition than a child’s immediate environment

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The single sentence prior to the last sentence is lengthy and contains the information required to fill in the blank at the end of the question. The argument topic is language acquisition; the author indicates that “one cannot attribute such acquisition solely to environmental influences” and then immediately follows that phrase by saying “innate mechanisms also play a role.” Hence, the author feels that both environment and innate mechanisms play a role. The last sentence then prefaces the blank by saying, “the most reasonable question that ought to be studied is whether______.” The most logical answer would be one that addresses the relative roles played by environment and innate mechanisms in language acquisition. Let’s examine the answer choices:

Answer choice (A): The argument is not about whether language acquisition can ever be explained, but about what influences exist on language acquisition and to what degree.

Answer choice (B): The psychologist asserts this statement at the end of the first sentence and if this were a Must Be True question, this would be the correct answer. But, this is more than a Must Be True question and the correct answer must meet the Main Point criterion. So, although this answer choice is true according to the psychologist, it does not capture the point of the argument as indicated by the last sentence and is therefore incorrect.

Answer choice (C): The argument does not attempt to establish that language acquisition is solely the product of innate mechanisms, but that innate mechanisms have some influence, as does environment. This answer choice tries to confuse test takers by going in the opposite direction of the psychologist’s statement that “one cannot contribute such acquisition solely to environmental influences.” This does not mean that we can therefore attribute such acquisition solely to innate mechanisms.

Answer choice (D): “Parents and peers” would qualify as environmental influences and the argument is not about determining if the environmental influence is the most important factor, but about the relative roles played by environment and innate mechanisms in language acquisition.

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer , and this is the only answer that addresses the relative roles of environment and innate mechanisms. Note that the language of the answer choice could have indicated that either play a greater role because what ought to be studied is a question that determines which is a greater influence.

margarette · Answer

The answer is E.

ENV = influence of the environment on language acquisition
LA = language acquisition
INN = innate mechanisms

The information in the sentence can be broken down like this:
1. ENV is important to LA
2. LA cannot be attributed solely to ENV
3. INN also plays a role in LA

"So, the most reasonable question that ought to be studied is whether ___________"
A. LA can ever be fully explained
B. INN are a contributing factor in LA
C. LA is solely a product of INN
D. parents and peers are the most important influence on a child's LA
E. INN play a more important role in LA than ENV

Remember to keep in mind that the stem asks what question OUGHT to be studied-- B. is a tempting answer because it's true, based on the information given. However, if we know that it's true, then we certainly don't need to study it any further. Don't confuse "the correct answer" with "the correct statement".

A., C., and D. are unknown or false. If something is completely unknown ("parents and peers are the most important influence...") then it doesn't make sense for us to study it further. They wouldn't give us all of this information in the first sentence if we were meant to ignore it!

E. is the best answer because, so far, we know that both INN and ENV both contribute to LA, but we don't know to what degree each contributes-- we're given vague terms like "cannot attribute....solely" and "also". Therefore, it's very "reasonable" and we "ought to" look into what degree each has an influence, and consequently, which one has more of an important role.

I hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions!

joshnsit · Answer

@margarette
From your explanation, can I say that in a question stem(Which one of the following most logically completes the passage?) as in this question,
1) one should look for extension of the idea presented in the stimulus and
2) even should proceed to frame his/her own conclusion?

I picked up B , which has been explained as a correct answer for Must Be True kind of questions but not this kind of questions by OE source I have.

, which has been explained as a correct answer for Must Be True kind of questions but not this kind of questions by OE source I have.

rajeevrks27 · Answer

@ margarette
If u see option E, it uses the word immediate environment that is not same as environment that influences the child..
If i have to define immediate environment, i will include all person and things ( Tv, cellphones..) i come in contact with..
and to say examples of environment would be almost everything i see, hear, observe....
I mean i may be wrong but there is a difference between the two...kindly throw some light and enlighten me....

omerrauf · Answer

I think the answer should be E. I thought it was borderline with the immediate environment, but in a way the immediate environment does contribute massively to the environment of a child. Now, in doing this, I am bringing in outside information. But then the question is asking which one "Most Logically" completes the passage. And of all the options, he best fit is still E.

Hence E.

Hence E.

margarette · Answer

I wouldn't say you should always look for an extension of the idea in the stimulus or frame your own conclusion-- the reason we happen to do these things in this particular case is because the sentence we are told to complete begins "So, the most reasonable question that ought to be studied is whether...", which leads us to think of what may be a good follow-up question given the information in the passage. For "Which of the following most logically completes the passage?" questions, make sure to look at the sentence you're completing. Had this stimulus ended as "Therefore, we know _____________ to be true", then B would definitely be correct

Great point, but while they are different, they are not separate-- keep in mind that "immediate environment" in the answer choice is part of the more general "environmental influences" mentioned in the stimulus, and just a more specific type of environmental influence at that. For the sake of simplification, I referred to both as ENV, but the distinction you bring up is actually more support for choosing answer choice E. It would be a "reasonable question" indeed to look into a more specific version ("immediate environment") of something that we know about more generally ("environmental influences"). Does that help?

Mkrishnabdrr · Answer

Between contenders B and E. 
 B. innate mechanisms are a contributing factor in language learning. 
 stimulus mentions:innate mechanisms also play a role. Same as stimulus. Not an inference of the argument.

(E) innate mechanisms play a more important role in language acquisition than a child’s immediate environment 
Correct. It logically completes the argument and posses what needs to be studied further. How much more important is innate mechanism than an immediate environment for child's language acquisition.

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Psychologist: Although studies of young children have revealed importa

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Psychologist: Although studies of young children have revealed importa

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards