TalentLens Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a logical syllogism: 'All managers attend meetings. Sarah attends meetings. Therefore Sarah is a manager.' What is wrong with this argument?
- The conclusion is always false
- It commits the fallacy of affirming the consequent (Correct answer)
- The first premise is too broad
- There is nothing wrong with this argument
Correct answer: It commits the fallacy of affirming the consequent
Affirming the consequent incorrectly concludes that if a result is true, the original cause must also be true, ignoring other possibilities.
Question 2: A product team receives two contradictory user research reports about feature preferences. The BEST critical thinking response is to:
- Discard both reports and rely on intuition
- Accept the most recent report as more current and accurate
- Investigate the methodologies, sample sizes, and contexts of both studies (Correct answer)
- Average the two findings and proceed
Correct answer: Investigate the methodologies, sample sizes, and contexts of both studies
Contradictory evidence calls for examining how each study was conducted to understand why results differ before drawing conclusions.
Question 3: Which of the following is an example of an 'appeal to ignorance' fallacy?
- 'Experts agree this treatment works, so it must be true'
- 'No one has proven this treatment doesn't work, so it must be effective' (Correct answer)
- 'This treatment is popular, so it must be safe'
- 'This treatment worked for me, so it will work for everyone'
Correct answer: 'No one has proven this treatment doesn't work, so it must be effective'
Appeal to ignorance assumes something is true simply because it has not been proven false, which is a logical error.
Question 4: When using the IDEAL problem-solving model, what does the 'E' stand for?
- Evaluate the solutions (Correct answer)
- Eliminate bad options
- Explore the problem deeply
- Examine assumptions
Correct answer: Evaluate the solutions
In IDEAL (Identify, Define, Explore, Act, Look back), 'E' stands for Explore possible strategies or solutions.
Question 5: A data analyst discovers an outlier in a dataset that dramatically changes the statistical conclusion. The BEST action is to:
- Remove the outlier to clean up the results
- Investigate the outlier's cause before deciding whether to include or exclude it (Correct answer)
- Report results without mentioning the outlier
- Duplicate all other data points to reduce the outlier's impact
Correct answer: Investigate the outlier's cause before deciding whether to include or exclude it
Outliers may represent errors or genuine phenomena; understanding the cause determines whether removal is justified.
Question 6: Which statement about assumptions in critical thinking is MOST accurate?
- Assumptions are always false and must be eliminated
- Identifying unstated assumptions is essential to evaluating an argument's validity (Correct answer)
- Assumptions are only relevant in formal logic, not real-world problems
- Strong arguments never require assumptions
Correct answer: Identifying unstated assumptions is essential to evaluating an argument's validity
Every argument rests on assumptions; recognizing them lets you test whether the argument holds if those assumptions are wrong.
Question 7: A leader consistently continues investing in a failing project because the team has already spent two years on it. This is an example of:
- Confirmation bias
- Availability heuristic
- Sunk cost fallacy (Correct answer)
- Optimism bias
Correct answer: Sunk cost fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy occurs when past irretrievable investments irrationally influence future decisions rather than expected future value.
TalentLens Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving 4
In a logical syllogism: 'All managers attend meetings.
Sarah attends meetings.
Therefore Sarah is a manager.' What is wrong with this argument?