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01 Nov 2021, 05:30
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
70% (02:04) correct
30%
(02:13)
wrong
based on 910
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
In 1963, a young macaque monkey was observed venturing into a hot spring to retrieve food which had fallen in. Soon, other macaques began to enter the spring, and over a few years this behavior was adopted by the entire troop. Prior to 1963, no macaques had ever been observed in the hot spring; by 1990, the troop was regularly spending time there during the winters. Thus, these macaques are able to adopt and pass on new patterns of social behavior, and are not complete captives of their genetic heritage.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument above?
(A) Mutations in the genetic heritage of a certain variety of macaques can occur over a time span as short as a few years or decades.
(B) New patterns of behavior that emerge in macaque populations over the course of a few years or decades are not necessarily genetically predetermined.
(C) Only when behaviors become typical among an animal population can we conclude that a genetic alteration has occurred in that variety or species.
(D) The social behaviors of macaques are completely independent of their genetic heritage.
(E) The macaques’ new pattern of behavior will persist over several generations.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument above?
(A) Mutations in the genetic heritage of a certain variety of macaques can occur over a time span as short as a few years or decades.
(B) New patterns of behavior that emerge in macaque populations over the course of a few years or decades are not necessarily genetically predetermined.
(C) Only when behaviors become typical among an animal population can we conclude that a genetic alteration has occurred in that variety or species.
(D) The social behaviors of macaques are completely independent of their genetic heritage.
(E) The macaques’ new pattern of behavior will persist over several generations.
01 Jan 2022, 08:30
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Bunuel
EXPLANATION FROM Fox LSAT
This is a Necessary Assumption question. The conclusion of the argument asserts that the observed macaque behavior has been passed on socially, and that macaques are therefore “not complete captives” of their genetic heritage. There is no evidence in the argument about genetics. My question to the speaker is, “Are social behaviors and genetic instincts completely separate?” My idea is that maybe macaques pass on social behaviors because they are genetically “programmed” to do so. If this were true, then the second half of the author’s argument would fail. So it seems as if the author has assumed that this social behavior was not caused by genetic programming. Let’s see.
A) If this were true, it would only weaken the author’s argument. So it can’t be the answer.
B) This almost exactly matches our prediction. If this statement is not true, the author’s argument fails. That’s how we know for sure that it’s an assumption required by the author’s argument. (It’s a necessary assumption.)
C) I don’t know what this means and I don’t much care, because B is such a good answer.
D) This answer choice goes way too far. The author hasn’t assumed that social behaviors and genetic heritage are completely separate. Necessary Assumption questions tend to like answer choices that are more weakly stated. (Sufficient Assumption questions tend to like stronger answer choices, but this isn’t a Sufficient Assumption question.)
E) The author doesn’t assume this. It’s irrelevant.
Our answer is B, because if is untrue then the argument fails.
General Discussion
06 Nov 2021, 06:00
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Bunuel
EXPLANATION FROM POWER SCORE
Because the troop of macaque monkeys adopted the behavior of spending time in the hot spring, the author concludes that the monkeys are able to adopt and pass on new patterns of social behavior. Notice that the argument explicitly rejects genetics as the cause for this behavior, stating that these macaques "are not complete captives of their genetic heritage":
- Cause ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... Effect
Adopt/pass-on → Jump in hot spring
Whenever the author accepts a particular cause over another, her argument depends on assuming that the rejected cause played no role in constituting the accepted one. What if the ability to adopt and pass on new patterns of social behavior were itself a product of genetic heritage? If true, the argument would be illogical: therefore, the author assumes that such ability was not genetically predetermined. Answer choice (B) is correct.
Answer choice (A): If mutations in the genetic heritage can occur over a time span as short as a few years or decades, then perhaps the monkeys' behavior was the product of genetic mutations. This answer choice does the exact opposite of what is needed — it supports the alternative cause for the stated effect and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. See discussion above.
Answer choice (C): Since the behavior in question did become typical among the macaque monkeys, this answer choice gives us no reason to reject genetic alterations as the probable cause for such behavior. This answer choice does the exact opposite of what is needed — it supports the alternative cause for the stated effect and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (D): This is perhaps the most attractive decoy answer. If the social behaviors of monkeys were completely independent of their genetic heritage, the conclusion is justified as true. However, notice that this is not a Justify the Conclusion question: we are not asked to strengthen the argument 100%. Our job is merely to state a necessary, missing premise for that conclusion. The argument does not rely on the idea that all social behaviors are completely independent of genetics. Rather, we only need to show that some social behaviors are not entirely dependent on genetics. This answer choice uses language that is too strong for Assumption questions. Always ensure that you answer Assumption questions with the most "minimalist" answer possible — the one best tailored to the particular conclusion at hand.
Answer choice (E): It is irrelevant whether this pattern of behavior will persist over several generations or not, as this can be due to either genetics or environmental factors. This answer choice is incorrect.
