#2 - Jocko, a chimpanzee, was once given a large bunch of

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Complete Question Explanation

Weaken—CE. The correct answer choice is (B)

Here we learn about a chimpanzee named Jocko, who responded with loud utterances, which the author refers to as “food barks,” when he was given a large bunch of bananas in the absence of the more dominant members of the group. In response to those barks, the others came back and took the bananas away from the chimp. When Jocko was alone again the following day, he was given a single banana, but kept silent this time, rather than making any noise. The zookeeper concluded that Jocko must have changed his behavior strategically, so that the other chimps wouldn’t come back to take away his food.

The zookeeper has drawn a causal conclusion: the effect that the zookeeper is attempting to explain is Jocko’s change in behavior from the first day to the second. The cause of this change, the zookeeper concludes, is Jocko’s strategy to keep the banana for himself:

• Cause Effect
  
  Strategy change in Jocko’s behavior

The question that follows is a Weaken question; the correct answer choice will weaken the zookeeper’s causal conclusion, so we might want to consider alternative causes for Jocko’s change in behavior.

Answer choice (A): This choice cannot be the correct answer choice as it fails to provide an alternative explanation for Jocko’s change in behavior; if chimps only make those food barks when their favorite foods are around, then bananas must be among Jocko’s favorite foods (since he barked when bananas were brought to him the first day). That does not explain why he failed to bark on the second day, even when he was given the same type of food.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, as it provides an alternative cause for the chimpanzee’s change in behavior. If chimps only make food barks when they encounter large quantities of food, then that would mean that the change in Jocko’s behavior could certainly be attributed to fact that the quantity of food he received was significantly reduced, from a large bunch of bananas on the first day to a single banana on the second day:

• Cause Effect
  
  Smaller quantity change in Jocko’s behavior

Since this answer choice effectively weakens the zookeeper’s argument with an alternative cause, it is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C): This choice may help to explain why the more dominant chimps took Jocko’s bananas on the first day, but that doesn’t explain Jocko’s change in behavior. If Jocko learned of this dominant behavior the first day, and responded by being quiet the second day, that would strengthen the zookeeper’s argument that the change was just part of Jocko’s strategy to keep the banana for himself.

Answer choice (D): This choice, which provides that chimps often make noises even when alone, does not provide any insight into why Jocko would choose to make food barks on the first day and change that behavior on the second day. This choice does not weaken the zookeeper’s causal conclusion that the change in behavior was based on Jocko’s strategy to keep the banana for himself, so it cannot be the correct answer choice to this Weaken question.

Answer choice (E): It is not surprising that bananas are among chimpanzees’ favorite foods, but this choice does not weaken the author’s argument that Jocko’s behavior change was caused by the chimp’s strategy to try to keep quiet and keep the others away. Since it does not weaken the conclusion found in the stimulus, this choice can be ruled out.