Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: If you give a chimp a tool, it plays and gets bored; if you give an orangutan a tool, it hides its interest and tries to escape later.

Reasoning: Chimpanzees tend to play with tools briefly and then lose interest, whereas orangutans may hide their interest in a tool only to use it for a specific purpose, like dismantling a cage, later on.

Analysis: This stimulus provides a sharp behavioral contrast between two species, suggesting that orangutans might possess a more calculating or deceptive form of intelligence than chimpanzees. Since this is a 'Most Strongly Supported' question, we aren't looking for a flaw, but rather a safe inference. The most supported statement will likely highlight that different primate species can have vastly different cognitive or behavioral approaches to the same situation. Avoid choices that make sweeping generalizations about all primates or that claim one species is 'smarter' in a broad, unproven sense.

Passage Stimulus

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7.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the naturalist's statements?

Correct Answer
C
C is correct. The orangutan behavior (“pretend to ignore”) is a clear example of deception. Since orangutans are nonhuman primates, it follows that some nonhuman primates are capable of deception.
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