LSAT Explanation PT 23, S3, Q15: Research indicates that college professors generally

LSAT Question Stem

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Flaw question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is C. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

The question type for this problem is a Flaw question, which asks us to identify the flaw in the reasoning of the argument.

First, let's break down the argument in the passage:

Premise: College professors generally grew up in communities with average household incomes higher than the national average.

Conclusion: College professors generally were raised in economically advantaged households.

The argument assumes that because college professors grew up in communities with higher average household incomes, they must have been raised in economically advantaged households. However, this reasoning is flawed because it does not consider the possibility that college professors could have come from households with below-average incomes within those communities.

To help illustrate this flaw, let's use a simple example: Imagine a community where the average household income is $100,000, which is higher than the national average of $75,000. Just because the community's average income is higher, it does not necessarily mean that every household in that community has an income of $100,000 or higher. There could be households with incomes lower than the average, and it's possible that college professors could come from those households.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Did college professors generally come from households with incomes that are average or above average for their communities?"

Now, let's discuss each answer choice:

a) This answer choice may seem attractive, but it's not necessarily inappropriate to assume a correlation between household income and economic advantage, as they are closely related. This choice is incorrect.

b) The argument focuses on the fact that college professors generally come from high-income communities, not whether all high-income communities produce college professors. This choice is incorrect because it criticizes the argument for not considering the Mistaken Reversal and discusses the negation of an absolute when the stimulus only concerned generalities.

c) This is the correct answer choice. The argument is flawed because it ignores the possibility that households that produce professors were below-average for their communities. This choice states that by saying the argument assumes those households were at or above average for their communities.

d) The argument is about the conditions in which professors were raised, not their current conditions. Whether private-sector employees earn more than professors is irrelevant. This choice is incorrect.

e) This choice is incorrect for several reasons. First, it concerns where adult professors live rather than where children who become professors live. Second, the conclusion was general, so even "many" exceptions would not necessarily harm the conclusion. Third, even if you misread the choice and believed it considered a majority of young professors-to-be, the fact that rural communities generally have lower average incomes does not indicate that those rural communities in which young professors-to-be have lower average incomes.