#6 - Some psychologists claim that empathic responses are forms of moral behavior.

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Weaken. The correct answer choice is (D).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[saimamidala23@gmail.com]

I struggled with this one a lot and ended up picking E. While I know E isn't a good answer because "some adults" could also give the same unsophisticated verbal responses as children, I couldn't wrap my head around D. Why does the distinction between actual vs hypothetical matter? That was never talked about in the stimulus.

[Dana D]

Hey Saimamideala,

The second group of psychologists said that children can't display moral behavior "on the basis of their unsophisticated verbal responses to hypothetical moral dilemmas." Based on that behavior alone, the second group concluded kids lack the moral reasoning skill necessary for their behavior to be considered moral. However, answer choice (D) says that in actual situations, the kids displayed a much higher level of moral reasoning, potentially calling into question the results of that second group of researchers. Maybe the group of kids the 2nd group studied just didn't have a high level of moral reasoning, or maybe the gravity of the situation being real and not hypothetical showed that kids had that capacity all along, but either way, the conclusion of the 2nd group has been weakened.