STAT Argument and Evidence Analysis 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A columnist writes: 'Either we allow unlimited immigration or our culture will disappear.' This argument commits which fallacy?
- Ad hominem
- False dichotomy (Correct answer)
- Slippery slope
- Hasty generalization
Correct answer: False dichotomy
Presenting only two extreme options while ignoring the many intermediate policy positions is a false dichotomy.
Question 2: A graph shows ice cream sales and drowning deaths both peak in summer. A commentator concludes that ice cream causes drowning. What is the most likely explanation for this correlation?
- Drowning causes people to want ice cream.
- Hot weather independently increases both ice cream consumption and swimming. (Correct answer)
- Ice cream companies are located near water bodies.
- People eat ice cream before swimming against safety rules.
Correct answer: Hot weather independently increases both ice cream consumption and swimming.
A confounding variable — hot weather — explains both trends without any causal link between ice cream and drowning.
Question 3: Which of the following most strengthens the argument that a reading program improved literacy rates in a school district?
- The program was praised by national education journals.
- Teachers in the district voluntarily participated in program training.
- A comparable district without the program showed no improvement over the same period. (Correct answer)
- The district spent more on education than the national average.
Correct answer: A comparable district without the program showed no improvement over the same period.
A control group that did not receive the intervention and showed no improvement helps isolate the program as the cause.
Question 4: An argument is described as 'valid but unsound.' This means:
- The conclusion is true but the logic is flawed.
- The logical structure is correct but at least one premise is false. (Correct answer)
- The premises are true but the conclusion does not follow.
- Both the premises and conclusion are false.
Correct answer: The logical structure is correct but at least one premise is false.
Validity refers to logical structure; soundness also requires true premises — a valid argument with a false premise is unsound.
Question 5: A reviewer dismisses a study on climate change because it was funded by an environmental group. This is an example of:
- Ad hominem (circumstantial) (Correct answer)
- Legitimate source evaluation
- A false analogy
- Argument from authority
Correct answer: Ad hominem (circumstantial)
Rejecting a claim based on the alleged bias of its source rather than its methodology is a circumstantial ad hominem.
Question 6: A text states: 'Studies show moderate wine consumption is associated with lower heart disease risk.' Which inference is best supported by this statement?
- Doctors recommend wine as a heart disease treatment.
- There is a statistical relationship between wine consumption and heart disease rates. (Correct answer)
- Abstaining from wine causes heart disease.
- Wine drinkers never develop heart disease.
Correct answer: There is a statistical relationship between wine consumption and heart disease rates.
The statement establishes a statistical association, not a causal mechanism, recommendation, or absolute rule.
Question 7: Which of the following represents a deductive argument?
- Most swans we have seen are white, so probably all swans are white.
- If all reptiles are cold-blooded and snakes are reptiles, then snakes are cold-blooded. (Correct answer)
- The last five flights were on time, so the next one will probably be on time too.
- High unemployment has preceded every recession we have studied.
Correct answer: If all reptiles are cold-blooded and snakes are reptiles, then snakes are cold-blooded.
Deductive arguments move from general premises to a specific conclusion that necessarily follows if the premises are true.
STAT Argument and Evidence Analysis 4
A columnist writes: 'Either we allow unlimited immigration or our culture will disappear.' This argument commits which fallacy?