LSAT Explanation PT 42, S2, Q7: Packaging is vital to a product's

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Most Strongly supported question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the passage. The passage discusses the importance of packaging for a product's commercial success. It provides an example of a popular drink that introduced a "new, improved" version, which performed well in blind taste tests. However, when the product was marketed, customers did not buy it mainly because the can was almost identical to the one used for the earlier version of the beverage. This made consumers expect that the new product would share certain features of the old one, an expectation not satisfied by the new product.

To simplify this, imagine a company selling a chocolate bar with a red wrapper. They create a new, better-tasting version of the chocolate bar, but they also use a red wrapper. Customers expect the new chocolate bar to taste the same as the old one because of the similar packaging, so they don't buy it.

Now, let's look at the question type. This is a Most Strongly Supported (MSS) question, which asks us to identify the answer choice that is most strongly supported by the information provided in the passage.

Let's go through each answer choice:

a) Proper product packaging is more important than the quality of the product.

While the passage emphasizes the importance of packaging, it does not provide enough evidence to support the claim that packaging is more important than the quality of the product. It only discusses one specific example.

b) Products generally succeed in the market if they are packaged in a manner that accurately reflects their nature.

This answer choice might seem tempting, but the passage does not provide enough evidence to support such a general statement. It only discusses one specific example where packaging was crucial for success.

c) Changing the packaging of a product will not improve the product's sales unless the product is also changed.

The passage does not provide enough evidence to support this claim. It only discusses a situation where the packaging was not changed, and the product did not sell well.

d) To succeed in the market, a new product should not be packaged in a way that creates expectations that it does not meet.

This answer choice aligns well with the information provided in the passage. The example in the passage shows that the new product did not sell well because its packaging created expectations that it did not meet. Therefore, this answer choice is most strongly supported by the passage.

e) An improved version of an existing product will sell better than the earlier version unless the improved version is packaged like the earlier one.

This answer choice makes a claim that is too strong and unsupported by the passage. The passage only provides one example where packaging affected sales, and it does not guarantee that an improved version will always sell better unless it is packaged like the earlier version.

Based on our analysis, the correct answer is D.