#17 - Method, Author's Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14542)

The correct answer choice is (D)

The question stem asks for the most likely reason the author discusses the anthropological study
in the second paragraph. The reason is given in the first sentence of that paragraph, immediately
before the introduction of the anthropological study: “The role of television in developing nations
is far removed from what the specialists assert.” In other words, the anthropological study is used as
evidence to show that the assertion made by the international communications specialists is wrong.

Answer choice (A): The study is not discussed to provide specialists with a model, but rather to
refute their perspective, so this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): The reference to the anthropological study is not meant to describe new ways
of conducting research, but rather to refute the beliefs of the specialists, so this answer choice is
incorrect.

Answer choice (C): The anthropological study was not meant to highlight flaws in a similar study,
but rather to highlight flaws in the specialists’ perspective.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. The study is meant to provide empirical
evidence which contradicts the consensus perspective of communications specialists.

Answer choice (E): The study is meant to underscore the popularity of domestic dramas, rather the
diversity of individual viewing habits, which is discussed in the last paragraph of the passage.

[Sdaoud17]

I was so confused bu this question I mean I used Q 14 which was the Answer C for it that are arguing about the discipline ? so I choice B.

can you explain Why D is the answer and not the others ?


Thank you

[Luke Haqq]

In answering Q17, you are right to look to Q14 to try to answer it. The primary purpose of the passage, according to Q14, is to "Argue that a certain discipline should adopt a particular methodology." Q 17, however, focuses specifically on the purpose the author had of mentioning a particular study in the second paragraph, so it is more specific than Q14.

Communication specialists, we are told in the beginning of the passage, have a pretty strong claim (lines 1-6): "Specialists in international communications almost unanimously assert that the broadcasting in developing nations of television programs produced by industrialized countries amounts to cultural imperialism: the phenomenon of one culture’s productions overwhelming another’s, to the detriment of the flourishing of the latter."

The second paragraph disagrees with this. There's more to the topic than just one culture dominating another, for example. So the second paragraph seems more concerned with pointing out some things the specialists missed. While it is true that the second paragraph gives some venues of further research, this isn't the primary purpose of that specific study in the paragraph.

[Sdaoud17]

got it . Thank you

[CPA2lawschool]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14542)

The correct answer choice is (D)

The question stem asks for the most likely reason the author discusses the anthropological study
in the second paragraph. The reason is given in the first sentence of that paragraph, immediately
before the introduction of the anthropological study: “The role of television in developing nations
is far removed from what the specialists assert.” In other words, the anthropological study is used as
evidence to show that the assertion made by the international communications specialists is wrong.

Answer choice (A): The study is not discussed to provide specialists with a model, but rather to
refute their perspective, so this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): The reference to the anthropological study is not meant to describe new ways
of conducting research, but rather to refute the beliefs of the specialists, so this answer choice is
incorrect.

Answer choice (C): The anthropological study was not meant to highlight flaws in a similar study,
but rather to highlight flaws in the specialists’ perspective.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. The study is meant to provide empirical
evidence which contradicts the consensus perspective of communications specialists.

Answer choice (E): The study is meant to underscore the popularity of domestic dramas, rather the
diversity of individual viewing habits, which is discussed in the last paragraph of the passage.

Hi team,

I incorrectly selected AC E over AC D here.

D's "contradiction" felt to be too high of a bar here, while your explanation "The study is meant to underscore the popularity of domestic dramas," in conjunction with the second example in paragraph one "imported programs (explicitly acknowledges presence of imported programs) do not uniformly attract larger audiences than domestically produced programs..." seems to provide basis for the claim noted in paragraph four "this model must emphasize the diversity of human responses.."


Will you please help me understand why E is wrong and D is correct based on my interpretation?

When I consider contradiction, I am looking for something along the lines of "The apple is red; the apple is NOT red." Will you please point to where that contradiction is achieved in this passage?


Thanks!

[James Finch]

Hi CPA,

The first sentence of the 2nd paragraph explicitly lays out the purpose of what follows: "The role of television in developing nations is far removed from what the specialists assert." From this statement, we can infer that the study is used to back up the claim that the specialists are wrong about TV in developing countries. (D) conforms exactly to this.

(E) is present in the passage, but as the explanation in the OP says, isn't discussed in the 2nd paragraph but rather in the 4th. This makes it incorrect for this particular question, which references only the 2nd paragraph.

Hope this clears things up!

[beeryslurs]

Hi.

I incorrectly chose B because of the first sentence in paragraph 3, which says "An empirical approach not unlike that of
anthropologists is needed if communications specialists are to understand the impact of external cultural influences on the lives of people in a society." This sounds just like suggesting new ways of research to me. Could you tell me where I got it wrong?

Thanks in advance.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi beery,

The purpose of the paragraph was not to describe new ways of conducting research. It was describing an old way of doing research that was more effective than the specialists' techniques. The study is not discussed as an explicit recommendation for specialists, but instead as support for the author's position that there is evidence that conflicts with the specialists' ideas. The third paragraph is where the author makes the recommendations to the specialists, not the second.

Part of how we can tell the purpose of the second paragraph is in the first sentence of that paragraph. The author begins by stating that the role suggested by the specialists is far removed from the empirical support, and then the paragraph goes on to give that empirical support in the form of the study. The study supports the author in stating that the specialists are incorrect.

Hope that helps!
Rachael

[flowskiferda]

I got this one right but after reviewing some more I'm really having trouble seeing how B isn't right. In the very next sentence after the example, the author essentially notes that the communications specialists could learn something from the anthropological study ("An empirical approach not unlike..."). To me, this indicates that the study was used as an example of what the communications specialists could be doing, i.e. describing new ways of conducting their research.

I guess the lesson here is not to try too hard to relate everything to the main point/argument of the passage?

[Adam Tyson]

It's that, but also more than that, flowskiferda. It might be true that the author thinks communications specialists could learn a thing or two from this and other anthropological studies, but is that WHY the author mentioned the study? Use the context and structure of the passage to guide your prephrase.

The author started off by telling us what those specialists think, told us they were making some broad assumptions, and then began the second paragraph by saying "The role of television in developing nations is far removed from what the specialists assert." In other words, those specialists are wrong. And the very next thing the author did was bring up that study. So within that context, and coming where it does in the flow of information provided, the purpose must be to support the claim that the specialists are wrong! That should be your prephrase - "show that communications specialists are wrong."

Structurally, the recommendation for what should be done comes later, and the study is not used by the author primarily as an example of a better way to do their research. That might be seen as a sort of secondary purpose, an incidental benefit.