LSAT Explanation PT 36, S3, Q16: Herpetologist: Some psychologists attribute complex reasoning

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the herpetologist's argument? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Necessary Assumption question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

This LSAT problem is a Necessary Assumption question. The passage presents an argument made by a herpetologist who disagrees with psychologists attributing complex reasoning to reptiles. The argument can be broken down into the following structure:

Premise: Reptiles are incapable of making major alterations in their behavior when faced with significant changes in their environment.

Conclusion: Reptiles must be incapable of complex reasoning.

To better understand this argument, let's use a simple example. Imagine we have a lizard that is used to eating insects in its natural habitat. If we suddenly change its environment and remove all insects, the lizard does not adapt its behavior to find new food sources. It continues searching for insects even though they are no longer present. The herpetologist argues that this inability to adapt shows that the lizard is not capable of complex reasoning.

The Evaluate question for this argument would be: "Is the ability to make major alterations in behavior when faced with significant environmental changes a necessary condition for complex reasoning?"

Now let's analyze the answer choices:

a) Animals could make major changes in their behavior only if they were capable of complex reasoning.

- This answer choice presents the mistaken reversal of the assumption we are looking for. It does not provide the necessary link between the ability to make major behavior changes and complex reasoning.

b) Simple stimulus-response explanations can in principle account for all reptile behaviors.

- This answer choice is incorrect because the stimulus does not involve explaining all reptile behavior. It focuses on the specific inability to make major alterations in behavior.

c) Reptile behavior appears more complex in the field than laboratory experiments reveal it to be.

- This answer choice is irrelevant because it does not address the relationship between the ability to make major alterations in behavior and complex reasoning.

d) If reptiles were capable of complex reasoning, they would sometimes be able to make major changes in their behavior.

- This is the correct answer choice. It provides the necessary link between complex reasoning and the ability to make major alterations in behavior. If this statement is true, then the herpetologist's conclusion logically follows from the premise.

e) Complex reasoning and responses to stimuli cannot both contribute to the same behavior.

- This answer choice is not relevant because the stimulus does not deal with particular behaviors, but rather with the reptiles' general ability to make major alterations to their behavior.

In conclusion, the correct answer choice is (d), as it provides the necessary assumption required by the herpetologist's argument.