LSAT Explanation PT 27, S1, Q14: Critic: Many popular psychological theories are

LSAT Question Stem

The statement about the relative therapeutic success of many popular psychological theories plays which one of the following roles in the critic's argument? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is an Argument Part question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is B. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's first analyze the passage's argument and its structure. The critic presents a claim and then dismisses its importance with a conclusion. The claim is that many popular psychological theories are poor because they are inelegant and do not help dispel the mystery surrounding our psyche. The conclusion is that this is not really important. The premise supporting this conclusion is that these theories produce the right results, as they have greater therapeutic success than their more scientific rivals. So, the argument is: It's not important that popular psychological theories are inelegant and do not help dispel mysteries because they have greater success than their rivals.

Now, let's identify the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is an Argument Part question, and we need to determine the role of the statement about the relative therapeutic success of many popular psychological theories in the critic's argument.

a) It is used to disprove evidence against these theories.

This choice is incorrect because the argument does not disprove any evidence against the theories. Instead, it argues that their inelegance and lack of mystery-dispelling power are not important because of their therapeutic success.

b) It is used to override some considerations against these theories.

Correct answer. The statement about the relative therapeutic success is used to show that the theories' inelegance and lack of mystery-dispelling power are not important because they have greater therapeutic success than their rivals.

c) It is used to suggest that popular psychological theories are actually better scientific explanations than are their rivals.

This choice is incorrect because the critic does not claim that popular psychological theories are better scientific explanations. Instead, the critic argues that their therapeutic success is more important than their inelegance and lack of mystery-dispelling power.

d) It is used to illustrate what the critic takes to be the most important aspect of scientific theories.

This choice is incorrect because the critic does not discuss the most important aspect of scientific theories in general. The critic focuses on the importance of therapeutic success for popular psychological theories.

e) It is used to suggest that the popular theories may not be as devoid of explanatory power as one may be led to believe.

This choice is incorrect because the critic acknowledges that these theories do not help dispel the mystery of the psyche. The statement about therapeutic success is used to show that this lack of explanatory power is not important, not to suggest that they have more explanatory power than initially believed.

In conclusion, the correct answer is B, as the statement about the relative therapeutic success of many popular psychological theories is used to override some considerations against these theories, namely their inelegance and lack of mystery-dispelling power.