Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Recognizing Bias in Reasoning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A researcher selects only studies that support their hypothesis and ignores all contradictory evidence when writing a report. This behavior most clearly illustrates which type of bias?
- Anchoring bias
- Confirmation bias (Correct answer)
- Selection bias
- Attribution bias
Correct answer: Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias involves selectively seeking or accepting information that supports one's pre-existing beliefs while discounting contrary evidence.
Question 2: A news report concludes that a new policy is unpopular based solely on interviews conducted outside one political party's headquarters. Which bias most undermines this conclusion?
- Anchoring bias
- Hindsight bias
- Selection bias (Correct answer)
- Framing effect
Correct answer: Selection bias
Selection bias occurs when the sample used is not representative of the broader population, skewing the conclusions drawn.
Question 3: A candidate is told the typical salary for a role is $70,000 before negotiating and ends up anchoring all their counteroffers close to that figure. This best demonstrates which cognitive bias?
- Availability heuristic
- Anchoring bias (Correct answer)
- Framing effect
- Confirmation bias
Correct answer: Anchoring bias
Anchoring bias describes the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.
Question 4: Without knowing the circumstances, a manager concludes that an employee who arrived late is irresponsible and lazy. This is a classic example of which reasoning error?
- Confirmation bias
- Framing effect
- Fundamental attribution error (Correct answer)
- Hindsight bias
Correct answer: Fundamental attribution error
The fundamental attribution error involves over-attributing others' behavior to their character while underweighting situational factors.
Question 5: A politician states: 'Either you support this bill entirely, or you are against economic progress.' Which form of biased reasoning does this statement exemplify?
- Straw man fallacy
- Ad hominem
- False dichotomy (Correct answer)
- Circular reasoning
Correct answer: False dichotomy
A false dichotomy presents only two options as if no alternatives exist, forcing a choice between extremes when middle positions are possible.
Question 6: A person argues that a herbal supplement is safe because 'natural things cannot be harmful.' Which type of reasoning error is present?
- Appeal to nature fallacy (Correct answer)
- Hasty generalization
- Post hoc reasoning
- Anchoring bias
Correct answer: Appeal to nature fallacy
The appeal to nature fallacy assumes that something is good or safe simply because it is natural, ignoring that many natural substances can be harmful.
Question 7: After three of their acquaintances had bad experiences with a particular airline, someone concludes that the airline is terrible for all passengers. This commits which reasoning error?
- Post hoc reasoning
- Anecdotal evidence used to make a hasty generalization (Correct answer)
- Fundamental attribution error
- Framing effect
Correct answer: Anecdotal evidence used to make a hasty generalization
Hasty generalization occurs when a broad conclusion is drawn from an unrepresentatively small or limited set of examples.
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Recognizing Bias in Reasoning 1
A researcher selects only studies that support their hypothesis and ignores all contradictory evidence when writing a report.
This behavior most clearly illustrates which type of bias?