Identifying Assumptions in Arguments Flashcards

Argument: 'We should hire Candidate A because she graduated from the most prestigious university.' What assumption underlies this recommendation?

Answer: University prestige is a reliable predictor of job performance relevant to this position

The argument assumes prestige of institution correlates with the candidate's ability to perform well in this specific role.

Argument: 'Our survey found that 80% of respondents prefer Brand X; Brand X is therefore the most preferred product in the market.' What assumption is present?

Answer: Survey respondents are representative of the entire market population

The argument assumes the survey sample accurately reflects all consumers, ignoring potential sampling bias.

Argument: 'Patients given Medication Y recovered faster than those who received no treatment; Medication Y must therefore accelerate recovery.' What assumption is this making?

Answer: The recovery difference was not due to placebo effect, spontaneous recovery, or other confounding variables

The argument assumes the observed difference is due to the medication itself rather than other explanations like the placebo effect or natural recovery rates.

Argument: 'Because this policy has worked in Sweden, it will work in the United States.' What assumption does this rely on?

Answer: The conditions relevant to the policy's success are sufficiently similar between the two countries

The argument assumes that the contextual factors enabling the policy's success in Sweden also exist in the United States.

Argument: 'This charity has a low administrative overhead ratio, so donating to it is the best use of charitable funds.' What assumption is made?

Answer: Low administrative costs are the most important indicator of a charity's effectiveness and impact

The argument assumes overhead ratio is the primary or sufficient measure of charitable value, ignoring program effectiveness or impact per dollar.

Argument: 'Students who take music lessons score higher on math tests; teaching music in schools will therefore improve math achievement.' What hidden assumption does this contain?

Answer: The association between music lessons and math scores is causal, not due to a common factor like family income or parental involvement

The argument assumes music education causes better math performance, ignoring that both may stem from the same underlying advantages.

Argument: 'Since we introduced the new training program, employee error rates have dropped by 20%; the training program is working.' What assumption is embedded in this conclusion?

Answer: The drop in errors is attributable to the training program and not to other concurrent changes

The argument assumes the training caused the improvement, not other simultaneous factors such as new equipment or seasonal workload changes.