Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A politician argues: 'My opponent has been critical of our national defense budget. Clearly, he doesn't care about protecting American lives.' Which fallacy is present?
- Slippery slope
- Straw man (Correct answer)
- False dilemma
- Appeal to authority
Correct answer: Straw man
The straw man fallacy misrepresents the opponent's position — criticizing budget levels is not the same as not caring about national defense.
Question 2: An executive says: 'We've always done our annual reviews in December. There's no reason to change it now.' This reasoning exemplifies which fallacy?
- Appeal to tradition (Correct answer)
- Hasty generalization
- Bandwagon
- Circular reasoning
Correct answer: Appeal to tradition
Appeal to tradition argues something is correct or best simply because it has always been done that way, without evaluating its actual merits.
Question 3: A reviewer writes: 'This movie must be great — it has a 95% score on the review site, and millions of people have seen it.' Which fallacy does this commit?
- False cause
- Bandwagon fallacy (Correct answer)
- Appeal to authority
- Red herring
Correct answer: Bandwagon fallacy
The bandwagon fallacy assumes something is good or true because many people believe or do it, not because of its actual quality.
Question 4: A doctor says: 'You should take this supplement — I've personally seen three patients improve after using it.' What fallacy is this?
- Hasty generalization (Correct answer)
- Appeal to nature
- Slippery slope
- Equivocation
Correct answer: Hasty generalization
A hasty generalization draws a broad conclusion from an insufficient sample — three cases are not enough to establish general effectiveness.
Question 5: Someone argues: 'Either we implement strict gun control laws, or gun violence will continue to spiral out of control.' This is an example of which fallacy?
- Ad hominem
- False dilemma (Correct answer)
- Begging the question
- Appeal to emotion
Correct answer: False dilemma
The false dilemma presents only two options when in reality there may be a range of policies and approaches between those extremes.
Question 6: A manager argues: 'We can't trust Jennifer's cost-cutting proposal — she's only been with the company for six months.' Which fallacy is committed?
- Straw man
- Ad hominem (Correct answer)
- Appeal to authority
- Equivocation
Correct answer: Ad hominem
Ad hominem attacks the person's characteristics (tenure) rather than evaluating the actual merits of the proposal.
Question 7: A parent tells their child: 'If you start skipping breakfast, soon you'll be skipping school, then dropping out, and eventually you'll never hold a job.' Which fallacy is this?
- Slippery slope (Correct answer)
- False cause
- Circular reasoning
- Hasty generalization
Correct answer: Slippery slope
Slippery slope assumes a chain of increasingly severe consequences will inevitably follow from one action without justifying each step.
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies 2
A politician argues: 'My opponent has been critical of our national defense budget.
Clearly, he doesn't care about protecting American lives.' Which fallacy is present?