PrepTest 132

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
People with perfect pitch tend to have relatives with perfect pitch; those without it tend to have relatives without it. Therefore, perfect pitch has a genetic basis.

Answer Anticipation:
There are two elements of this stimulus that are repeated on the LSAT, and they both point at the same answer!

The first is the type of logic present here. This is a Strengthen question, and the most common flaw committed by an argument in this question type is correlation/causation. Here, the conclusion is that perfect pitch "is a consequence" of genetic factors—a causal statement. This is based on a correlation—people who have perfect pitch tend to be related to others who have it—so this argument commits a correlation/causation flaw. There are common ways to strengthen arguments with that flaw, but before we get to those, let's talk about the second repeated element.

This repeated element is related to the content here. This question talks about genetics as a cause for a characteristic of a person. When that comes up, there's a very solid chance that the LSAT is going to wade into the age-old nature vs. nurture debate. Here, the conclusion is that genetics determines perfect pitch, but is it possible that it's not nature but rather nurture? Could people with perfect pitch have families that prioritize music, and thus they receive training that leads to them having that skill? Sure! This argument ignores the potential role of nurture in perfect pitch.

One of the prime ways that a correlation/causation argument can be strengthened is by ruling out an alternative cause, and nurture is an alternative cause here. Any answer that rules this out as a possible source of perfect pitch for related individuals will strengthen this argument.

Answer Explanation:
This answer rules out one way that nurture could result in perfect pitch—these related individuals could have parents that put them in music classes. If that's not the case, then it's more likely that it is their genes giving them the skill, strengthening the argument.

Key Takeaway:
Arguments that attribute anything to either genetics or environment will usually have answers that deal with the other. In Strengthen questions, that generally involves ruling out nature or nurture as an alternative cause—whichever isn't discussed in the conclusion.

Incorrect. Characteristics of the researchers don't determine anything about the study (at least, they don't if the study is done in a competent manner).

Incorrect. The careers of these individuals are out of scope of the cause of their perfect pitch. If this answer in some way connected the career as a cause of perfect pitch, then maybe we'd have to consider it, but the answer establishes that the perfect pitch was present in these individuals before they chose their career.

Incorrect. This answer is almost the opposite of answer (A), and in raising a potential alternative cause for the correlation between perfect pitch and having a relative with perfect pitch (musical training being driven by a family member), this answer cuts against the argument.

Incorrect. If this correlation does anything to the argument, it suggests that musical training could be an alternative cause to genetics for perfect pitch, weakening the argument.