PrepTest 107, Section 4, Question 11
Sometimes when their trainer gives the hand signal(59 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- AMammals have some(12 more words not shown)
- BThe dolphins often(8 more words not shown)
- CThe dolphins are(8 more words not shown)
- DDolphins do not(10 more words not shown)
- ESome of the(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Doing one of several tricks isn't necessarily being creative. Maybe the dolphins have learned three routines and choose a different one each time.
The signal sometimes produces a synchronized leap, sometimes a backward swim, and sometimes tail-waving. That's variety, but it doesn't tell us how the dolphins learned those behaviors. What if the trainers rewarded each routine with food until the dolphins performed it in response to this signal?
The author wants more than that: these aren't simply learned responses, and dolphins can engage in higher cognitive activity, perhaps including language and forethought. I'd want evidence separating that explanation from a selection among familiar tricks. Could they do something they hadn't been taught? Could a change in the trainer's signal produce an appropriate change in their response?
What we’re looking for
We're asked to strengthen the argument. My expectation is evidence that the behavior goes beyond repeating trained routines, or shows some understanding of what the signal calls for. The fact that the trainer means “Do something creative together” doesn't by itself establish that the dolphins understand that request.
Working the answers
- A
Some bodily and brain similarities among mammals don't establish this particular cognitive ability in dolphins. We'd need a connection between the relevant similarity and the ability to respond creatively. A provides neither that connection nor evidence explaining these performances.
- BCorrect
The responses are often complex and new. That makes it harder to explain the performance as merely choosing from the same familiar routines. The dolphins aren't just alternating between the three behaviors already mentioned; they produce new responses to this signal.
This supports the idea of a more flexible cognitive ability. It doesn't prove that the dolphins use language or establish exactly how they coordinate. The conclusion says those abilities may include language and forethought, and B gives it more support than simple repetition would.
- C
Food incentives give us a way the dolphins could have learned to perform particular routines. That doesn't establish that they go beyond training when they receive this signal. If anything, it makes the learned-response explanation we were worried about easier to understand.
- D
Interacting differently with humans and with other dolphins doesn't tell us why they perform these synchronized actions. The difference could occur whether their response to the signal was trained or creative. We need evidence bearing on that distinction, not just a difference between two kinds of interaction.
- E
This is tempting because it tells us the movements needn't originate in human training. But performing a behavior in the wild doesn't explain the dolphins' response to this particular hand signal. A naturally occurring behavior could still be trained as a response to a cue. B more directly addresses the concern by showing new, complex responses when that cue is given.
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