#13 - Studies have shown that, contrary to popular belief...

[lsat2016]

Hello,

At first, I chose C because there’s no link between depression and fear of dying. However, it seems that there’s no logical connection between B)’s other people being dependent on self either. Another reason that I chose C is because even though depression is linked with fear of death, we don’t know whether depression increases or decreases with age whereas B directly points out that the middle-aged people have more to lose than any other group.

Could you confirm my thinking process?

Thank you so much!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi lsat2016,

The reason why answer choice (C) does NOT explain the phenomenon is because it tells us nothing about whether the elderly are any less depressed than middle-aged people. All we know, according to answer choice (C), is that depression first hits in middle age. Even if we assume that depression and fear of death somehow correlate (perhaps a dubious assumption, but I'll let it slide), we have no way of knowing if middle-aged people are more depressed than elderly people. Consequently, answer choice (C) does not explain the phenomenon.

By comparison, answer choice (B) tells us that middle-aged people have more people dependent on them than people of any other age group (incl., the elderly). This sets up a clear difference between the two groups. Does this difference matter? Absolutely. It's reasonable to fear death more if more people depend on you for support.

Hope this clears it up!

Thanks,

[AM4747]

Hello

why is D wrong?

When people are imperturbable, would we not expect that they not really feel anything towards death? If so, then it contradicts the study, it doesn't help explain it.

Perhaps the reasoning is that knowledge of this fact causes one to fear living longer and typically death is an indicator of having lived a long life?

I see why C is correct, just need some clarification with regard to D.

Thanks

[Dave Killoran]

Hello

why is D wrong?

When people are imperturbable, would we not expect that they not really feel anything towards death? If so, then it contradicts the study, it doesn't help explain it.

Perhaps the reasoning is that knowledge of this fact causes one to fear living longer and typically death is an indicator of having lived a long life?

I see why C is correct, just need some clarification with regard to D.

Thanks

Hi AM4747,

Answer choice (D) is similar to (A) in that it shows that attitudes towards death or life change over time, especially the longer one lives. In the case of (D), we are trying to explain a difference in viewpoints between middle age and old age, and here we could say that as you get older, you simply become less excitable or bothered by things in general. That would explain why middle-aged people have more fear of dying vs older people.

Note here that this problem reflects the classic Resolve question structure of, "You cannot explain a difference with a similarity, you need a difference." I talked in some detail about that phenomenon over in this question: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=27004

Thanks!

[pablourioste]

Hi! I chose E because it seems to just re-state the premise that middle-aged people are the most scared of mortality, without really providing an explanation as to why this is the case. Why is this wrong?

[Robert Carroll]

pablourioste,

An acute sense of something does not automatically mean an increased fear of something. Things can be feared for which a person doesn't have an acute sense, and someone can have an acute sense of something one does not fear. So answer choice (E) is not simply repeating the stimulus.

Further, if you choose answer choice (E), you're committed to thinking every other answer does explain the paradox in the stimulus. So how does answer choice (C) do so?

Robert Carroll