LSAT Explanation PT 32, S4, Q25: Helena: Extroversion, or sociability, is not

LSAT Question Stem

Jay's response suggests that he interpreted Helena's remarks to mean that 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Flaw question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's first analyze the argument in the passage. Helena presents a conclusion that extroversion, or sociability, is not biologically determined. She supports her conclusion with a premise: children whose biological parents are introverted, when adopted by extroverts, tend to be more sociable than children of introverted parents who are not adopted. Jay disagrees with Helena's conclusion by stating that it does not follow because some of these children adopted by extroverts remain introverted no matter how young they are when adopted.

To simplify this argument, let's use an example. Imagine that Helena is saying that a person's taste in music is not determined by their parents' taste in music. She supports this by saying that children who have parents that like classical music, when raised by parents who like rock music, tend to like rock music more than children of classical music-loving parents who are not adopted. Jay disagrees by saying that some children raised by rock music-loving parents still prefer classical music.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Do environmental factors play a significant role in determining extroversion?"

Now, let's discuss the question type and answer choices. The question type is a Flaw question, asking us to identify how Jay interpreted Helena's remarks. We'll go through each answer choice and evaluate them:

a) biological factors play only a partial role in a child being extroverted

- This answer choice is incorrect because Jay's response does not suggest that he thinks Helena believes biological factors play a partial role. Instead, he focuses on the exception to Helena's premise.

b) most but not all children whose biological parents are introverted become extroverted when adopted by extroverts

- This answer choice is also incorrect because Jay's response focuses on the exceptions to Helena's premise, not on the majority of cases. If Jay interpreted Helena's remarks this way, his response would have been compatible with her argument, which it isn't.

c) children whose biological parents are introverted, when adopted by extroverts, tend not to be more sociable than children of introverted parents who are not adopted

- This answer choice is incorrect because it contradicts Helena's premise. Jay's response does not suggest that he interpreted Helena's remarks this way.

d) biological factors do not play any role in a child being extroverted

- This answer choice is correct. Jay's response suggests that he interpreted Helena's remarks to mean that biological factors have no role in determining extroversion. He disagrees with this interpretation by pointing out the exception to Helena's premise, thus implying that biological factors must have some role.

e) environmental factors can sometimes be more influential than biological factors in determining extroversion

- This answer choice is incorrect because it doesn't capture the essence of Jay's disagreement with Helena's conclusion. Jay's response focuses on the exceptions to Helena's premise, not on the relative influence of environmental factors.

In conclusion, the correct answer is D, as it best represents how Jay interpreted Helena's remarks based on his response.