Logical reasoning PrepTest 120 · Section 1 · Question 5

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
Belief: Emotional reaction to event/thing → Event thing believed to be real
Reality: People have emotional reactions to things they know to be fictional

Answer Anticipation:
This Must Be True (Principle) stimulus is interesting. It presents a paradoxical situation that has two pieces to it: what people believe about their emotional reactions, and what is true of those emotional reactions. While people believe they only feel emotional about real things, they actually have emotional reactions to works of fiction.

Must Be True (Principle) questions generally present us with two principles/conditionals that lead to opposed conclusions. However, here, the stimulus is presented as an apparent paradox—two things that seem like they should be contradictory but actually aren't. Therefore, we should expect the answer to highlight a situation that illustrates this paradox. Let's find a situation where someone believes that they wouldn't have an emotional reaction to a work of fiction but then they actually do.

Answer Explanation:
Fred knows he's dealing with a work of fiction? Check—the horror movie. Fred believing that he won't have an emotional reaction to it? Check. Fred actually having an emotional reaction to it? Fear is an emotion, so check. This answer illustrates the paradox from the stimulus, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
What people believe, what people know, and what is true are distinct ideas. This discrepancy is frequently tested on the LSAT, so be sure to pay attention to such language when it shows up. Here, noting that the paradox involved people "know[ing]" a work to be fictional was key to eliminating the trickiest incorrect answer.

Incorrect. There's no emotional reaction here, so it doesn't conform to a principle focused on such reactions.

Incorrect. A very tempting answer! However, the paradox in the stimulus is about an emotional reaction to things people "know" to be fictional. Since Raheem believed his sister was in the hospital, he didn't "know" that that belief was "fictional."

Incorrect. Jeremy believed it unlikely that something was untrue—the stimulus discusses things that people "know to be fictional."

Incorrect. First, the work here had accurate details, so it's not clearly a work of fiction. Plus, this answer doesn't discuss Sandy's beliefs on whether it was fictional or not. Finally, failing to maintain interest in characters is arguably not an emotional reaction.