PrepTest 113, Section 4, Question 6
In a study, infant monkeys given a choice(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AInfant monkeys' desire(13 more words not shown)
- BFor infant monkeys,(15 more words not shown)
- CFor infant monkeys,(19 more words not shown)
- DFor infant monkeys,(19 more words not shown)
- EInfant monkeys' desire(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
I'd pick the softer one too—if both options came with food. In the first comparison, both structures have milk bottles. The monkeys choose the suede-covered structure, which tells us that the softer surface matters when getting milk isn't the tradeoff.
Then the tradeoff changes. Now the soft structure has no milk, and the bare wire structure has milk. The monkeys choose the wire. They haven't shown that comfort means nothing; they've shown which option wins when they must choose between comfort and food.
What we’re looking for
For the most-supported answer, I'd put food ahead of warmth and comfort.
Working the answers
- A
We know which desire wins when the monkeys must choose. We don't know that it is a close contest. A choice for food could reflect a slightly stronger desire or a much stronger one. 'Nearly as strong' adds a measurement that the study doesn't provide.
- B
No animal fur was offered. The comparisons involve suede, bare wire and the presence or absence of milk. We can't rank suede against a material that wasn't part of either choice, and the passage doesn't tell us how convincing a substitute either material would be.
- C
Preferring a source of milk doesn't tell us how closely it resembles the mother's body to the monkey. Perhaps the bottle is appealing simply because it supplies food. C instead compares how convincing two substitutes are, which neither observation measures.
- D
We have no basis for calling the substitutes equally convincing either. Choosing suede when both structures supply milk, then choosing milk when only the wire structure supplies it, gives us a ranking of these attractions. It doesn't measure how realistic the monkeys find the bottle and the covering.
- ECorrect
When food and comfort are separated, the monkeys choose food without hesitation. That supports the claim that their desire for food is stronger.
The first comparison still matters: they prefer the soft surface when both choices provide milk. Taken together, the results show comfort is attractive but food takes priority when obtaining one means passing up the other. E states that ranking without pretending we know the size of the difference.
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