Flaw in Reasoning

Question 1

What Flaw? “takes the beliefs of one scientist to represent the belief of all scientists.”

Answer 1

Error of Composition

Question 2

Evidence Flaw: Exceptional Case / Overgeneralization

Answer 2

This is when the author uses a small number of instances to support a very broad and sweeping conclusion. Example: “Two of my friends were shortchanged at the store. Therefore, everyone gets shortchanged at the store.”

Question 3

Flaw: Error of Division

Answer 3

When the author attributes a characteristic of the whole (or each member of the whole) to a part of the group.” Ex: “The United States is the wealthiest country in the world. Thus, every American is wealthy.”

Question 4

What Flaw? “depending on ambiguous use of a key term.”

Answer 4

Uncertain use of a Term / Concept

Question 5

What Flaw? “the argument improperly appeals to the authority of the supervisor.”

Answer 5

Appeal to Authority

Question 6

What Flaw? “The author draws a conclusion that is not warranted by the evidence provided.”

Answer 6

General Lack of Evidence

Question 7

What Flaw? “The author argues circularly by assuming the conclusion is true in stating the premises.”

Answer 7

Circular Reasoning

Question 8

What Flaw? “attempts to persuade by making an emotional appeal.”

Answer 8

Appeal to Emotion

Question 9

What Flaw? “confusing the coincidence of two events with a causal relation between the two.”

Answer 9

Mistaken Cause and Effect (Correlation)

Question 10

Fallacy: Appeal to Emotion

Answer 10

Using emotionally charged language to persuade the reader. Example: “Please don’t throw my son in jail! He has had a hard time in school, and has ADHD, and has a baby on the way with his 16 year old girlfriend. He doesn’t deserve jail time!”

Question 11

What Flaw? “Assumes that legislation should not be supported based on the character of some supporters of the legislation.”

Answer 11

Source Argument

Question 12

Evidence Flaw: Internal Contradiction

Answer 12

The premise and conclusion contradict one another. Example: “Everyone should join our country club. After all, it’s an exclusive group that links many of the influential members of the community.” Flaw: Conclusion states that ‘everyone’ should join. Premise states that the group is ‘exclusive’. Clearly everyone cannot join an exclusive group.

Question 13

What Flaw? “assumes a causal relationship where only a correlation has been indicated.”

Answer 13

Mistaken Cause and Effect (Correlation)

Question 14

Flaw: False Analogy

Answer 14

“occurs when the author uses an analogy that is too dissimilar to the original situation to be applicable.” Ex: “Just as heavy rainfall can be cleansing, the best approach to maintain a healthy relationship is to store up all your petty grievances and then unload them all at one time on your partner.” Flaw: “The comparison fails to consider that a heavy rainfall and an emotionally charged situation are fundamentally different.”

Question 15

What Flaw? “the author overlooks the possibility that the same thing may causally contribute to both.”

Answer 15

Mistaken Cause and Effect (Alt. Cause)

Question 16

What Flaw? “improperly infers that all union members have a certain attribute from the premise that most union members have that attribute.”

Answer 16

Error of Composition

Question 17

What Flaw? “the authors conclusion depends on defining a key term in two different ways.”

Answer 17

Uncertain use of a Term / Concept

Question 18

What Flaw? “fails to consider that some voters may be neither strong supporters nor strong opponents of the suggested amendment.”

Answer 18

False Dilemma

Question 19

What Flaw? “treats two very different cases as if they are similar.”

Answer 19

False Analogy

Question 20

Mistaken Cause and Effect Flaw (Temporal / Sequence)

Answer 20

Assuming a causal relationship on the basis of the sequence of events. Example: “My friend did the chicken dance outside and then it started to rain. Therefore, the dance caused the rain.”

Question 21

Evidence Flaw: Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Some of to prove true)

Answer 21

The author provides evidence that only supports, not proves the conclusion, to be true. Example: “We know that the defendant was in the vicinity of the robbery when the robbery occurred. Therefore the defendant is guilty of robbery.”

Question 22

What Flaw? “Uses evidence drawn from a sample that may not be representative.”

Answer 22

Survey Error: Biased Sample

Question 23

What Flaw? “the argument tries to undermine the claim by appealing to public opinion”

Answer 23

Appeal to Popular Opinion / Appeal to Numbers

Question 24

Evidence Flaw: Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Some of to prove false)

Answer 24

Using insufficient evidence, the author jumps to a conclusion that a position is false based upon that insufficient evidence. Example: “Some analysts claim that Apple’s market-share for consumer electronics slipped considerably in 2015 due to lower demand for their products. However, the Apple Watch product did well against similar competitor products. Therefore, the analysts claim is false.” Flaw: While the Apple Watch may have done well in 2015, the analysts were not making their claim against the niche-market for wearable consumer electronics - they were asserting their claim against the much broader consumer electronics market as a whole. While the author provides some evidence that Apple did well in one product category, the author cannot use that limited evidence to disprove the analysts’ claim.

Question 25

What Flaw? "The attack is directed against the person making the argument rather than directing it against the argument itself."

Answer 25

Source Argument

Question 26

What Flaw? "The argument bases a broad claim on a few exceptional instances."

Answer 26

Overgeneralization CAUTION: This is frequently a wrong answer choice!

Question 27

Flaw: Time Shift Errors

Answer 27

Assuming that conditions will remain constant over time, and that what was the case in the past will be the case in the present or the future. "what happened in the past is no guarantee in our present or future" Ex: "The company has always reimbursed me for meals when I'm on a business trip, so they will certainly reimburse me for meals on this business trip."

Question 28

Flaw: Uncertain Use of a Term or Concept

Answer 28

Using a term in different ways is inherently confusing and undermines the integrity of the argument. Ex: "Some people claim that the values that this country was built on are now being ignored by modern-day corporations. But this is incorrect. Corporations are purely profit-driven enterprises, beholden only to their shareholders, and as such they can only assess objects based on their value." Flaw: The term 'value' is used in two different ways. Note: THIS ANSWER CHOICE APPEARS MORE FREQUENTLY AS IN INCORRECT ANSWER THAN ANY OTHER TYPE.

Question 29

What Flaw? "assumes that every polled individual provided a truthful response."

Answer 29

Survey Error: Inaccurate Answers by Respondents

Question 30

What Flaw? "taking the absence of an occurrence as evidence that a necessary condition for that occurrence also did not take place."

Answer 30

Conditional Reasoning Mistaken Negation

Question 31

Flaw: False Dilemma

Answer 31

Assumes that only two courses of action are available when there may be others. Either this needs to happen or that must happen. Ex: "Recent accidents within the oil industry have made safety of operation a critical public safety issue. Because the industry cannot be expected to police itself, the government must step in and take action." CAUTION: Do not confuse false dilemma with a situation where the author legitimately establishes that ONLY 2 possibilities exist. (1) "either A or B, but not both" establishes a limited set of possibilities, or (2) "you are either dead or alive."

Question 32

What Flaw? "The claims presented in support of the conclusion conflict with the other evidence provided."

Answer 32

Internal Contradiction

Question 33

What Flaw? "The stimulus generalizes on the basis of what could be exceptional cases."

Answer 33

Overgeneralization CAUTION: This is frequently a wrong answer choice!

Question 34

Flaw: Straw Man

Answer 34

Attacking an opponent's position by ignoring their actual statements and instead attacking a distortion of those statements. The author "builds up a straw argument" which is then easier to knock down. Often this attack is accompanied by saying: "What you're (really) saying is..." "if I understand you correctly, ..." Example: Person A: "My proposal calls for a moderate tax increase on those that make more than $250,000 a year to help pay for education programs." Person B: "But what you're saying is that everyone should pay higher taxes, and so your proposal is unfair." Flaw: Person B distorts the details via exaggeration to make it easier to attack Person A's proposal.

Question 35

What Flaw? "The stimulus introduces information that actually contradicts the conclusion."

Answer 35

Internal Contradiction

Question 36

Flaw: Survey Error Improper construction of survey questions

Answer 36

If a survey question is confusing or misleading, the results of the poll can be inaccurate. Two examples: Using confusing double-negative speech in a question: "Do you feel it is possible that none of the candidate would not vote to increase taxes?" Using presumptive language that someone might not agree with: "How soon should the U.S. government withdraw from the United Nations?"

Question 37

Evidence Flaw: Error in Assessing Force of Evidence (Lack of to prove false)

Answer 37

Where lack of evidence is used as evidence to prove that a position is false. Example: "The White House has failed to offer any evidence that they have reached a trade agreement with China. Therefore no such trade agreement has been reached." Flaw: Just because the White House has not shared information on reaching a trade agreement with China, does not mean that a trade agreement has NOT been reached.

Question 38

What Flaw? "The author presupposes what he/she sets out to prove."

Answer 38

Circular Reasoning

Question 39

What Flaw? "The argument confuses weakening an argument in support of a given conclusion with proving the conclusion itself to be false."

Answer 39

Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Some of to prove false)

Question 40

What Flaw? "treats a claim about the current state of affairs as if it were a claim about what has been the case for an extended period."

Answer 40

Time Shift Error

Question 41

What Flaw? "generalizes from an unrepresentative sample"

Answer 41

Survey Error: Biased Sample

Question 42

Fallacy: Appeal to Authority

Answer 42

When the author appeals to an authority in an attempt to persuade the reader to their take on the argument. The flaw is that the authority may not have relevant knowledge, or there may be a difference between experts on the subject. Example: "World-renowned neurologist Dr. Sam Langhourne says that EZ Brite tooth strips are the best for whitening your teeth. So, you know if you buy EZ Brite tooth strips, you will soon have the whitest teeth possible!" Flaw: Dr. Sam is a neurologist, not a dentist - and therefore not a suitable authority on the subject of teeth whitening.

Question 43

Flaw: Survey Error When Respondents give inaccurate responses

Answer 43

Basically says that respondents might not being telling the truth when surveyed - which corrupts the sample data. Questions like: "What is your age?" and "How much money do you make?" are frequently lied about in responses.

Question 44

Conditional Reasoning Flaw Mistaken Reversal

Answer 44

Example: "Critics say if the class is online, students need a notebook. I agree, if a student needs a notebook, they take class online." Premise: CO -------\> SNN Conclusion: SNN --------\> CO The flaw here is that the author's conclusion swaps necessary clause with the sufficient clause.

Question 45

Source Argument (aka Ad Hominem) Flaw

Answer 45

Attacking the source of an argument and not the argument itself. Example: "The anti-smoking views expressed by Senator Smith should be ignored. After all, Smith himself is a smoker!" Flaw: The author focuses on the motives and / or the actions of the source of the argument instead of the argument. These attacks are frequently used by children and politicians.

Question 46

Fallacy: Appeal to Popular Opinion / Appeal to Numbers

Answer 46

That a position is true, because the majority believe it to be true. Example: "A recent poll states that 75% of Americans believe that Google is a monopoly. Antitrust law states that monopolies have a bad effect on the marketplace, and therefore Google should be broken into smaller pieces." Flaw: Argument attempts to persuade the reader that a popular perception of Google as a monopoly is enough reason to break it up. Which is silly...

Question 47

What Flaw? "the author makes an appeal to public opinion without requiring an adequate basis for the conclusion of the argument."

Answer 47

Appeal to Popular Opinion / Appeal to Numbers

Question 48

What Flaw? "The argument is directed against the proponent of a claim rather than against the claim itself."

Answer 48

Source Argument

Question 49

What Flaw? "treats two things that differ in critical respects as if that do not differ."

Answer 49

False Analogy

Question 50

What Flaw? "popular sentiment is treated as definitive proof of a claim."

Answer 50

Appeal to Popular Opinion / Appeal to Numbers

Question 51

What Flaw? "The author bases a conclusion on claims that are inconsistent with each other."

Answer 51

Internal Contradiction

Question 52

What Flaw? "The argument draws conclusions about the validity of a position from evidence about the position's source."

Answer 52

Source Argument

Question 53

What Flaw? "assuming that because something is true of each of the parts of a whole, that it is true of the whole itself."

Answer 53

Error of Composition

Question 54

Conditional Reasoning Flaw Mistaken Negation

Answer 54

Example: "If it is hot out, Adam will be eating ice cream. Therefore, if it is not hot out, Adam is not eating ice cream." Premise: HO ------\> AEIC Conclusion: -HO ---------\> AEIC Flaw: This is incorrect. The contrapositive of the premise is actually: "If Adam is not eating ice cream, it is not hot out."

Question 55

Flaw: Error of Composition

Answer 55

Occurs when the author attributes a characteristic of part of the group to the group as a whole or to each member of the group. Example: "Every party I attend is fun and exciting, therefore my life is fun and exciting."

Question 56

What Flaw? "bases a conclusion on survey responses that were gained through faulty questioning."

Answer 56

Survey Error: Improperly constructed questions

Question 57

What Flaw? "The argument treats evidence showing mere plausibility as if it proves that the conclusion is in fact true."

Answer 57

Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Some of to prove true)

Question 58

What Flaw? "equivocates with respect to a central concept."

Answer 58

Uncertain use of a Term / Concept

Question 59

What Flaw? "refutes a distorted version of an opposing position"

Answer 59

Straw Man

Question 60

What Flaw? "bases a conclusion solely on the authority of the claimant, without seeking further proof."

Answer 60

Appeal to Authority

Question 61

Mistaken Cause and Effect Flaw (Alt. Cause)

Answer 61

Failure to consider an alternate cause for the effect, or an alternate cause for both the cause and effect. Example: "John is struggling in class, and has failed the last three exams. Clearly, his teacher is responsible for John's poor academic performance." Flaw: The author fails to consider that John's lackluster performance may be due to any number of alternate causes - such as not studying.

Question 62

What Flaw? "presumes without warrant that what is true of a whole must also be true of each of its parts,"

Answer 62

Error of Division

Question 63

What Flaw? "taking a lack of evidence for a claim as evidence undermining the claim."

Answer 63

Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Lack of to prove false)

Question 64

What Flaw? "The author is treating the failure to prove a claim to be false as if it is a demonstration of the truth of that claim."

Answer 64

Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Lack of to prove true)

Question 65

What Flaw? "the author mistakes an effect for a cause."

Answer 65

Mistaken Cause and Effect (Reversal)

Question 66

What Flaw? "The stimulus uses inapplicable information to draw a conclusion about the character of the witness."

Answer 66

General Lack of Evidence

Question 67

What Flaw? "draws an unwarranted inference from what has been true in the past to what will be true in the future."

Answer 67

Time Shift Error

Question 68

What Flaw? "distorts the proposal advocated by opponents."

Answer 68

Straw Man

Question 69

What Flaw? "misdescribing the opposing position, thus ,making it easier to challenge."

Answer 69

Straw Man

Question 70

Evidence Flaw: Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Lack of to prove true)

Answer 70

When the author claims that lack of evidence is evidence to prove something to be true. Example: "There is no evidence to prove that God does not exist. Therefore, God exists."

Question 71

What Flaw? "mistakes the occurrence of one event after another for proof that the second event is the result of the first."

Answer 71

Mistaken Cause and Effect Flaw (Temporal / Sequence)

Question 72

What Flaw? "The argument assumes what it is attempting to demonstrate."

Answer 72

Circular Reasoning

Question 73

What Flaw? "The author makes irreconcilable presuppositions."

Answer 73

Internal Contradiction

Question 74

What Flaw? "the author fails to include an alternative explanation for the observed effect."

Answer 74

Mistaken Cause and Effect (Alt. Cause)

Question 75

What Flaw? "The author supports a general claim on the basis of a single example."

Answer 75

Overgeneralization CAUTION: This is frequently a wrong answer choice!

Question 76

Mistaken Cause and Effect Flaw (Reversal)

Answer 76

Mistakes an effect as the cause or vice versa. Example: "The house is in ruins, so clearly someone set a fire." Flaw: The cause was someone set a fire, the effect was that the house was left in ruins.

Question 77

What Flaw? "a conclusion is judged to be false simply because most people believe it to be false."

Answer 77

Appeal to Popular Opinion / Appeal to Numbers

Question 78

Flaw: Survey Error Using a biased sample

Answer 78

When the author cites a survey to support a conclusion, where the sample surveyed shows a clear bias. One frequent error of this type, is when the survey sample is self-selected. Meaning, that the majority of those participated in the survey, did so willingly to support a perceived aim of the survey. Another example of a biased sample, is when the surveyor errs in their selection methodology. For example, only sending out an presidential election poll to only gun show conventions -- which most likely already strongly support a republican candidate - and then saying that the sample is representative of all Americans.

Question 79

Mistaken Cause and Effect Flaw (Correlation)

Answer 79

Assuming a causal relationship when only a correlation exists. Example: "OPEC raised the price per barrel of crude up $2.00 USD today, and a teacher strike took place in Wisconsin's public schools. Therefore, OPEC's decision to raise the price of crude caused the teachers to go on strike." Flaw: The premises stand alone by themselves - attempting to stitch them together in a causal relationship is flawed reasoning.

Question 80

What Flaw? "it confuses two different meaning of the word 'value'."

Answer 80

Uncertain use of a Term / Concept

Question 81

What Flaw? "The stimulus fails to give any reason for the judgement it reaches."

Answer 81

General Lack of Evidence

Question 82

Evidence Flaw: Lack of Relevant Evidence

Answer 82

Most (if not all) of the premises that the author provides is irrelevant to the conclusion they make. Example: "Some critics claim that scientific progress has increased the polarization of society and alienated large segments of the population. But these critics are wrong because even a cursory glance at the past shows that society is always somewhat polarized and some groups are inevitably polarized." Flaw: Author doesn't provide enough evidence to disprove his claim that some critics are flat-wrong. Saying that something has always been that way without taking into account that things could get worse (which is what the critics assert) is flawed.

Question 83

What Flaw? "The author treats failure to prove a claim as constituting denial of that claim."

Answer 83

Error in Assessing the Force of Evidence (Lack of to prove false)

Question 84

What Flaw? "portrays opponents' views as more extreme than they really are."

Answer 84

Straw Man

Question 85

Circular Reasoning Flaw

Answer 85

The author assumes as true what is supposed to be proved. Examples: "The Bible is the Word of God, because the Bible tells me so." "This essay is the best because it is better than all the others." Flaw: The premise supports the conclusion, but the conclusion also supports the premise - thereby creating a circular reasoning loop. The conclusion in an argument should always flow from the supporting premises.

Question 86

What Flaw? "mistakes being sufficient to achieve a particular outcome for being required to achieve it."

Answer 86

Conditional Reasoning Mistaken Reversal

Question 87

What Flaw? "The author cites irrelevant data."

Answer 87

General Lack of Evidence

Question 88

What Flaw? "the argument appeals to emotion rather than reason."

Answer 88

Appeal to Emotion

Question 89

What Flaw? "the judgement of experts is applied to a matter in which their expertise is not relevant."

Answer 89

Appeal to Authority