#23 - A certain species of bird has two basic varieties

[Kdup]

Hi Powerscore,

I'm trying to understand why " A" isn't correct. I went through doing contenders and losers and I eliminated B &C.... I was then stuck between "A", "D", and "E". .. I realized that it could not be "D" because if a crested bird selects a crested mate then that would show that there is some type of pre disposition that crested bird has towards its own kind, that goes against the conclusion draw that birds preference for crested or non crested mates is learned rather than genetically determined. So, I moved on to answer choice A and E. I selected "A" because it says that birds show presences for mates that have one or another specific physical feature... and I was thinking that these physical features is something that could possibly be liked over time... or a preference.

[Matt Griffiths]

Good question, Kdup.

In this Strengthen question we are looking for an answer choice that helps the argument, particularly the conclusion that the birds' preference is learned rather than genetically determined.

Answer choice (A) is problematic in a couple of ways. First of all, it mentions only birds of other species. That should be a red flag right off the bat -- how do we know that statements about other species are relevant to this specific type of bird? Second, it does not address whether these birds are raised with other birds possessing this feature. All it tells us is that there is a preference. Is this preference inborn or learned? (A) doesn't give us any insight into that question.

As you noted, (D) actually weakens the argument, as it removes the exposure to crested birds that would give evidence for a learned preference.

(E) is correct because it shows that a relevant, alternate scenario where the birds are raised in a mixed environment leads to a different result. The birds who were raised with crested birds pick crested mates, and the birds who were raised with both crested and noncrested show no preference. That's exactly what we're looking for! Notice that it also specifies birds of that species rather than the birds of a different species mentioned in (A).

Another aspect of this question you may have noted is that it involves a causal conclusion. One way to strengthen a causal conclusion is to show that when the cause does not occur, the effect does not occur. Here, being raised in a crested flock is our cause, and showing a preference for crested mates is our effect. But when the cause does not occur, as in (E) where the birds are raised in a different flock, the effect does not occur either. That helps to strengthen the argument.

Hope this aids you in understanding the question.

[Snomen]

Hey, can anyone point to where literally is the causal relationship..? I can't find it..., plus are we strengthening the causal here or we are weakening it? What is the cause and what is the effect?

[Adam Tyson]

It's the word "determined" at the end of the stimulus, Snomen - that word indicates a causal relationship, with one thing determining (leading to, being responsible for, causing) another. In this case, the cause is "learned" and the effect is "mate preference."

This is a classic LSAT causal situation, in that it is an argument about nature vs nurture. When the author argues that certain behavior is caused by genetics, that's the "nature" argument, and you can strengthen it by showing that the behavior was not learned (nurture, which will also be referred to as environmental, or social). Or, you can weaken it by suggesting that it WAS caused by some "nurture" factor.

And when the argument is that the cause is a "nurture" factor, as in this case, you strengthen by showing that it is NOT nature (not a genetic or biological cause). That's what we want to do here - strengthen that this behavior is learned rather than genetic. If we had wanted to weaken the argument we would have looked for an answer that suggested a natural/biological/genetic cause instead of something environmental.

Answer E helps by showing that the preference for a mate is not biologically predetermined, for if it were, then these birds from mixed flocks probably would have some preference despite having been raised with that diversity.

Nature vs. Nurture is at the heart of a LOT of LSAT cause-and-effect questions, so be on the lookout for it!

[treyrg]

Hi!

I ended up going with (E) because I liked it more, but I want to be able to confidently eliminate the others, and it was difficult for me to eliminate (B).

My initial thought about (B) was that it was attempting to show that the behavior of the birds does not differentiate much between crested and noncrested birds of that species. In doing so, I thought that (B) was able to discard an alternative reason for why the birds might choose a mate: behavior. By eliminating this alternative reason, there would be more support for the conclusion that the author provides.

Other than how I felt about (E), the only reason I went away from (B) was because it does not actually eliminate the alternative reason. It states that "there are few behavioral differences" found between the two types of birds, which can be translated to "there are some behavioral differences," in which case I'd likely have eliminated it.

Am I on the right track with why (B) is wrong or am I missing something?

[Paul Popa]

Hi Trey, that's a great question! We're trying to support the idea that the birds' preference for crested or noncrested mates is learned rather genetically determined. You're correct that E does the best job of strengthening the idea that the preference is learned; when the bird is raised in a mixed group, the bird has no preference when selecting a mate. It's only when the bird is raised in a group that is exclusively one way or the other that it exhibits a preference.

I think you're on the right track that B simply doesn't seem to support the idea of the preference being learned as well as E does. If we take B at face value, and there are few behavior differences, we don't know if those few behavioral differences are sufficient enough to cause a preference for or against the type of bird exhibiting them. We have to extrapolate beyond what the answer is telling us to be able to strengthen the argument. In total, B is worded to get us to believe that behavior is irrelevant, but it doesn't guarantee that it is, which makes it difficult to use to support the argument. E supports the idea of the preference being learned more clearly, and is correct. Hope this helps!