Logical Reasoning

PT120 · S1 · Q5 The human emotional response presents

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

The human emotional response presents an apparent paradox.

Principle

People believe that they can be genuinely moved only by those things and events that they believe to be actual, yet they have genuine emotional responses to what they know to be fictional.

Evaluate / Goal

Usually principles are conditional rules, and so we could latch onto the "only" part and write half of the 'apparent paradox' as a conditional rule:

If X is not something → ppl don't believe that X ppl believe to be actual can genuinely move them

But it seems like this principle is intended to stress both halves of the paradox. We think we can only be genuinely emotionally triggered by real stuff, but in reality we have genuine emotional responses to fictional stuff.

5.

Which one of the following situations most closely conforms to the principle cited above?

  1. Correct

    Fred was watching a horror

    Why this is right

    This conforms to the idea that even though we don't believe we can be emotionally triggered by fake stuff, we can still have genuine emotional responses to stuff we know to be fictional. He knew these monsters were "make-believe", and thus did not expect to be bothered by make-believe monsters, but he nonetheless felt genuinely frightened by them.

    Skill tested: Principle-Conform · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    92% picked this

  2. Tamara was reading Hamlet. Although

    Unconnected to Principle

    This is compatible with the principle (meaning, it doesn't contradict it), but it doesn't match what the principle is talking about. She knew that Hamlet was fictional, so we would want the answer to say "she didn't think Hamlet could emotionally trigger her, but it did". Instead, it just talks about her making dry, emotionless statements.

    2% picked this

  3. Raheem thought that his sister

    Unconnected to Principle

    This is compatible with the principle (meaning, it doesn't contradict it), but it doesn't match what the principle is talking about. Raheem thought his sister was actually in the hospital and was genuinely worried. This principle is about having genuine emotional reactions to stuff you know to be false.

    3% picked this

  4. Jeremy was upset by the

    Weaker Match

    This is almost mirroring the principle, but we're looking for someone having a genuine emotional reaction to something they know to be fictional, they know to be not actually true. This is saying Jeremy thought a certain writer's account was probably not actual, so it's in a weird gray area.

    2% picked this

  5. Sandy was watching a film

    Negation of Principle

    Our principle is about having emotional reactions to stuff we know is not real. This answer is about lacking emotional reactions to something we know is real.

    0% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free