PrepTest 149, Section 4, Question 8
A study of guppy fish shows that a(59 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(9 more words not shown)
- AWhen a model(26 more words not shown)
- BIn many other(14 more words not shown)
- CNo studies have(19 more words not shown)
- DFemale guppies have(8 more words not shown)
- EThe male and(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Show her your good side. That seems to be what the male guppies are doing: females favor more orange, and the males tend to present the side with more of it.
The males were free to vary their position. That means they had a choice, not that they actually displayed both sides equally. The observed preference for showing orange fits the females' apparent preference.
What we’re looking for
The question asks us to support an argument, so we need to return to the opening claim rather than treat the passage as a list of observations. My first instinct is to connect the choice of side with the males' courting behavior. Let's test that idea carefully against what the conclusion actually says as we consider the answers.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Reread the whole claim: the males change their courting patterns in response to feedback from females. The passage already describes the side display as occurring when courting. The important missing point is the role of feedback, which my initial prediction overlooked.
A model can attract the males' courting behavior without responding like a live female. With that response removed, the males no longer favor their more orange side. They still court, so the difference isn't simply that they stop courting altogether. The loss of the orange-side preference supports the idea that feedback from a real female helps produce that preference. This is the comparison we need.
- B
Females of other species might prefer symmetry while female guppies prefer more orange. Their preferences needn't match. B doesn't show that a male guppy's choice of side changes in response to this female's feedback.
- C
A lack of studies about offspring gives us no supporting result. Successful reproduction is also different from changing a courting pattern in response to feedback. We need evidence about the response described here, not a statement that another question hasn't been studied.
- D
It's tempting to build a story: perhaps orange is a distinctly male trait, and perhaps females like it for that reason. But the answer only says females have little orange. It doesn't establish that explanation of attraction, and it doesn't show the males changing their display because of feedback. We would be adding the crucial reasoning ourselves.
- E
Separate tanks don't remove the possibility of feedback. The fish can still see one another, so a male could respond to the female's visible behavior. E tells us what kind of interaction is possible, but doesn't compare what males do with feedback versus without it. A supplies the useful contrast.
More Strengthen questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Strengthen questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.