Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies Questions and Answers 5

Question 1

A manager argues: 'Since our best engineers work long hours, all employees who work long hours must be high performers.' Which fallacy is this?

Accepted Answer

Affirming the consequent

Answer

Affirming the consequent incorrectly concludes that because the outcome follows from a condition, the condition must be present whenever the outcome is observed.

Question 2

A coach says: 'If we allow players to skip one practice, they'll start skipping all practices, and the whole team will fall apart.' Which fallacy is illustrated?

Accepted Answer

Slippery slope

Answer

The slippery slope fallacy assumes that one small step will inevitably lead to extreme consequences without adequate justification.

Question 3

The word 'critical' means both 'negative/fault-finding' and 'essential/important.' An argument that exploits this double meaning commits:

Accepted Answer

Equivocation

Answer

Equivocation uses a word with multiple meanings in different senses within the same argument to mislead.

Question 4

A researcher concludes: 'Countries with more TV sets have higher life expectancy, so watching more TV must extend life.' This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

False cause (cum hoc ergo propter hoc)

Answer

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc mistakes correlation for causation — both TV ownership and life expectancy correlate with wealth, not each other causally.

Question 5

An attorney argues: 'Since the jury could not prove my client committed the crime, he must be innocent.' In logical terms, this commits:

Accepted Answer

Appeal to ignorance

Answer

Appeal to ignorance treats the failure to disprove a claim as sufficient proof of its opposite.

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Practice Test

Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies Questions and Answers 5