PrepTest 147, Section 1, Question 8
While studying a large colony of macaque monkeys,(76 more words not shown)
The statements above, if true,(8 more words not shown)
- ABaby macaques under(10 more words not shown)
- BBaby macaques under(16 more words not shown)
- CAdult macaques use(11 more words not shown)
- DBaby macaques under(12 more words not shown)
- EBaby macaques under(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The babies copy the actions that adult macaques use with them. They smack their lips and stick out their tongues, but they don't copy the hand gestures or the opening and closing of the mouth. That's the pattern to keep in view.
What we’re looking for
We're asked what these observations most strongly support. I'd expect an answer connecting the babies' imitation to the gestures adult macaques use. We haven't been told why that connection exists. For now, let's stick with the behavior the scientists observed.
Working the answers
- A
'Whatever they see' conflicts with the examples. The babies saw hand gestures and mouths opening and closing without imitating those actions. They copied some actions, not everything the scientists did.
- B
Not imitating a movement doesn't show that the babies lack the muscle control to perform it. Perhaps they can make the movement but aren't inclined to copy it. The study describes what they did in response to the scientists; it doesn't test the limits of their physical abilities.
- C
We know that adult macaques use these gestures when interacting with babies. We don't know that their purpose is entertainment. The gestures might communicate something or serve another purpose. Nothing in the observations singles out amusing the babies as the explanation.
- D
Recognizing and copying a gesture doesn't mean mistaking the person making it for an adult macaque. The babies could respond to a familiar kind of action while recognizing that the scientist is different. The study tells us their behavior, not whom they believe they're looking at.
- ECorrect
This captures the pattern in the four actions tested. The two human gestures the babies imitated are also used by adult macaques with babies; the two gestures they didn't imitate aren't. Those observations support the idea that the babies only copy human gestures that adult macaques also use. They don't prove how the babies would respond to every possible untested gesture, but E is the conclusion most directly supported by the evidence we're given.
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