Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Recognizing Bias in Reasoning 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A researcher studying the effects of social media concludes: 'Social media causes depression in teenagers.' The study only surveyed teenagers who were already receiving mental health treatment. Which bias is most evident?
- Confirmation bias
- Sampling bias (Correct answer)
- Anchoring bias
- Availability heuristic
Correct answer: Sampling bias
Sampling bias occurs because the study used a non-representative group (teens already in treatment), skewing the conclusion.
Question 2: A financial advisor tells a client: 'Most of my clients who followed this investment strategy made money, so it will work for you too.' What logical flaw undermines this reasoning?
- Survivorship bias (Correct answer)
- Recency bias
- Sunk cost fallacy
- Base rate neglect
Correct answer: Survivorship bias
Survivorship bias ignores clients whose investments failed, presenting only the successful cases.
Question 3: A judge says: 'In my 20 years on the bench, I've never seen an innocent person convicted, therefore our justice system is nearly perfect.' This reasoning is flawed because:
- The judge has limited exposure to wrongful convictions that were overturned elsewhere (Correct answer)
- Twenty years is not a long enough career to form judgments
- Personal experience is always invalid in legal reasoning
- The judge should consult statistics before making any claim
Correct answer: The judge has limited exposure to wrongful convictions that were overturned elsewhere
The judge's experience is limited to cases in their courtroom, creating a biased sample that excludes systemic errors they never witnessed.
Question 4: An editorial claims: 'Crime rates rose after the new police reform policy was implemented, proving the policy failed.' Which reasoning error is present?
- False dichotomy
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Correct answer)
- Ad hominem
- Straw man
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Post hoc reasoning falsely assumes that because crime rose after the policy, the policy caused the rise.
Question 5: A hiring manager reviews resumes and consistently rates candidates from her own alma mater more favorably. This is best described as:
- In-group bias (Correct answer)
- Halo effect
- Attribution bias
- Contrast effect
Correct answer: In-group bias
In-group bias leads people to favor those who share their group membership, such as attending the same school.
Question 6: A politician argues: 'We must either increase military spending or accept national vulnerability.' A critical thinker would identify this as:
- A valid deductive argument
- A false dilemma presenting only two options when others exist (Correct answer)
- An appeal to authority
- An accurate risk assessment
Correct answer: A false dilemma presenting only two options when others exist
The false dilemma fallacy artificially limits options to two extremes, ignoring middle-ground or alternative solutions.
Question 7: After reading a news article about shark attacks, a tourist decides swimming anywhere in the ocean is extremely dangerous despite statistics showing attacks are rare. This illustrates:
- Confirmation bias
- Optimism bias
- Availability heuristic (Correct answer)
- Anchoring bias
Correct answer: Availability heuristic
The availability heuristic causes people to overestimate risks based on how easily vivid examples come to mind.
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Recognizing Bias in Reasoning 4
A researcher studying the effects of social media concludes: 'Social media causes depression in teenagers.' The study only surveyed teenagers who were already receiving mental health treatment.
Which bias is most evident?