LSAT Explanation PT 40, S3, Q11: Historian: One traditional childrearing practice in

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the historian's statements? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Must Be True question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

This LSAT problem is a Must Be True (MBT) question. We need to find the answer choice that can be properly inferred from the historian's statements in the passage.

Let's first analyze the passage:

The historian tells us that in the nineteenth century, a traditional childrearing practice was to make a misbehaving child sit alone outside. This would signal to passersby that the child had misbehaved. Many modern child psychologists believe that such practices damage a child's self-esteem, and that damaged self-esteem leads to less confident adults. However, the historian points out that there is no disagreement that adults raised under the traditional practice were, on average, as confident as adults not raised under that practice.

Now let's go through the answer choices:

a) The beliefs of many present-day child psychologists about the consequences of loss of self-esteem are incorrect.

This answer choice seems tempting at first, as it suggests that the psychologists' beliefs are incorrect. However, the passage only provides evidence that the traditional practice did not necessarily lead to less confident adults, not that the psychologists' beliefs about the consequences of loss of self-esteem are incorrect. So, this answer choice is not supported by the passage.

b) Some of the most confident adults, as well as some of the least confident adults, were raised under the traditional practice in question.

Although this statement might be true, we cannot infer this from the passage. The passage only tells us that adults raised under the traditional practice were, on average, as confident as adults not raised under that practice. It does not provide information about the most or least confident adults.

c) With the traditional childrearing practice, passersby did not always make correct inferences about children's behavior by observing them outdoors.

The passage does not provide any information about whether passersby made correct or incorrect inferences about children's behavior. This answer choice is not supported by the passage.

d) The most confident adults are those who developed the highest level of self-esteem in childhood.

This statement may be true, but it is not supported by the passage. The passage only discusses the relationship between the traditional childrearing practice, self-esteem, and adult confidence. It does not provide information about the most confident adults or the highest levels of self-esteem in childhood.

e) If children's loss of self-esteem makes them less confident as adults, then the traditional childrearing practice in question did not tend to cause significant loss of self-esteem.

This answer choice is correct. It establishes a conditional relationship between the two parts of the child psychologists' beliefs. Since the passage tells us that adults raised under the traditional practice were, on average, as confident as adults not raised under that practice, it implies that either the psychologists are wrong about the relationship between loss of self-esteem and adult confidence, or the traditional practice did not cause significant loss of self-esteem.

In conclusion, the correct answer choice is (e).