PrepTest 136, Section 2, Question 23
As a general rule, the larger a social(90 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(12 more words not shown)
- AEarly humans were(14 more words not shown)
- BEarly humans developed(14 more words not shown)
- CEarly humans were(19 more words not shown)
- DWhile early humans(15 more words not shown)
- EMany types of(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Grooming here is about keeping the group together. Picture a group of three primates and a group of ten. The larger group has more relationships to maintain, so it makes sense that its members would spend more time on an activity that maintains social bonds.
The passage also connects larger neocortices with larger groups, leading to the expectation that early humans lived in large groups. But apart from parents grooming children, these humans apparently did virtually no grooming of one another. That's the puzzle: the large group is present, but the expected social activity is largely absent.
What we’re looking for
We need a fact that explains the human exception while keeping both observations. Why wouldn't a large human group need the grooming that helps hold other primate groups together? The purpose of the activity matters more than merely observing that the humans looked or behaved differently.
Working the answers
- A
Grooming yourself can attend to your own body, but it doesn't explain how the group maintains the social cohesion that grooming one another normally provides. A substitutes an individual activity without explaining why the social activity became unnecessary.
- BCorrect
Language gives early humans another way to maintain social cohesion, and the answer says it is more effective than grooming. A large group could therefore preserve its social bonds through communication while spending virtually no time grooming one another. The need for cohesion remains; the means of achieving it changes.
- C
Less hair could reduce the physical work needed to keep someone's hair or skin in good condition. But the passage identifies social cohesion as the main purpose of this grooming. Having less hair doesn't by itself remove the need to maintain relationships in a large group. B addresses that purpose directly.
- D
Hunting in small parties doesn't establish that the humans' overall social groups were small. Members could hunt in separate groups and return to a larger community. D leaves us needing to explain how that larger group stayed cohesive with little social grooming.
- E
Other primates fitting the expected pattern makes the human case stand out; it doesn't explain the exception. We already have a general relationship among brain size, group size, and grooming. The missing information concerns what allowed early humans to maintain a large group without the usual grooming.
More Paradox questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Paradox questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.