Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT127 S1 Q16 Explanation

Psychologist: The obligation to express

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

TopicsRole

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Stimulus

Psychologist: The obligation to express gratitude cannot be fulfilled anonymously. However much society may have changed over the centuries, human psychology is still driven primarily by personal interaction. Thus, the important social function of positively reinforcing those behaviors that have beneficial consequences the benefactor knows the source of the gratitude.

What this question is testing

Role

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
16.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the psychologist’s argument by the claim that the obligation to express gratitude

Answer choices

  1. Wrong Role15% picked this

    It is an illustration of a premise that is used to support

    This says it helps illustrate something that helps support the conclusion. We want an answer that says, "It is the conclusion."

  2. Wrong Role4% picked this

    It is used to counter a consideration that might be taken to undermine

    This is saying it's anticipating an objection to the conclusion and dealing that objection. No, it's just the main conclusion.

  3. Wrong Role14% picked this

    It is used to support indirectly a claim that the argument in turn uses to

    This answer would apply to the claim "Human psychology is still driven primarily by personal interaction", since that claim supports the final sentence, which is then used to support the main conclusion in the first sentence. But since the claim we're asked about is the first sentence, we just want to see "it's the conclusion".

  4. Wrong Role3% picked this

    It is used to identify the social benefit with which the

    This is making the first sentence out to be a neutral context-provider, as though it's just identifying the specific topic that the author will go on to make an argument about in subsequent claims. But that's not capturing its role, for it's the conclusion of the argument, not just a launching pad for an argument to come.

  5. Correct63% picked this

    It is the conclusion that the argument is intended

    Why this is right

    This says "main conclusion".

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

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