December 2009 LSAT
Section 5
Question 25
The author's primary purpose in the passage is to
Replies
Shiyi-Zhang on May 27, 2019
Why is A incorrect?Ravi on May 28, 2019
@hallerae and @Shiyi-Zhang,Happy to help. Let's take a look at (A), (C), and (D). We're looking
for the answer that tells us the primary purpose of the passage.
(A) says, "survey existing interpretations of the puzzling results of
an experiment"
The author of the passage examines just one interpretation of the
perplexing results of the Ultimatum Game. (A)'s wording, in saying
"surveying," suggests far more diligent investigations of the existing
interpretations. Additionally, the passage's author is far more
concerned with presenting her own interpretation. Thus, (A) does not
capture the primary purpose of the passage, so it's out.
(C) says, "argue that the results of an experiment, while puzzling, are valid"
The passage's author never says that the Ultimatum Game's results are
valid. The results are accepted, and their potential invalidity is
never even brought up. The author simply wants to explain the results
because they appear to have a conflict with a number of economic
assumptions (lines 22-27). Thus, (C) is factually inaccurate, so we
can get rid of it.
(D) says, "offer a plausible explanation for the puzzling results of
an experiment"
In reviewing the passage, we see that the author is seeking to give an
answer to a question. She is providing a plausible explanation for the
perplexing results (the rejection of low offers) in an experiment, and
this is her reasoning for writing the passage. Thus, (D) captures the
main point really well, so it's the correct answer choice.
Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!