Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies 2

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?

Accepted Answer

Straw man

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Appeal to tradition

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Bandwagon fallacy

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Hasty generalization

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

False dilemma

Answer

The false dilemma presents only two options when in reality there may be a range of policies and approaches between those extremes.

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies 2