Table 4 Hindrances Due To Psycholigicak And Sociological Pitfalls

Question 1

Ad hominem fallacy

Answer 1

Criticizing the person making an argument, not the argument itself.

Question 2

Ad populum, bandwagon fallacy

Answer 2

An appeal to the popularity of the claim as a reason for accepting the claim

Question 3

Communal reinforcement

Answer 3

The process by which a claim, independent of its validity, becomes a strong belief through repeated assertion by members of a community.

Question 4

Emotional appeals

Answer 4

Making irrelevant emotional appeals to accept a claim, since emotion often influences people more effectively than logical reasoning.

Question 5

Evading the issue, red herring

Answer 5

If one has been accused of wrong doing, diverting attention to an issue irrelevant to the one at hand.

Question 6

Fallacy of false dilemma, either/or fallacy

Answer 6

Intentionally restricting the number of alternatives, thereby omitting relevant alternatives from consideration.

Question 7

Irrelevant appeal to authority

Answer 7

An attempt to get a controversial claim accepted on the basis of it being supporting by an admirably or respectable person.

Question 8

Lawsuit censorship

Answer 8

Repressing free speech and critical thinking by instilling fear through the threat of lawsuits.

Question 9

Moses syndrome suggestibility, conformity, and deferring judgement

Answer 9

Promises of happiness, security, power, wealth, health, beauty, etc., made again and again in a confident manner, by charismatic people with prestige, tend to be believed uncritically and without argument or proof.

Question 10

Poisoning the well

Answer 10

Creating a prejudicial atmosphere against the opposition, making it difficult for the opponent to be received fairly.

Question 11

Political censorship

Answer 11

Repressing free speech, distorting the facts, or cherry picking facts to support a biased political viewpoint or dogmatic belief.

Question 12

Positive outcome bias

Answer 12

The tendency for researchers and journalists to publish research with positive outcomes between two or more variables, while not publishing research that shows no effects at all.

Question 13

Shoehorning

Answer 13

The process of force fitting some current event, after the fact, into one’s personal, political, or religious agenda.

Question 14

Sunk-cost fallacy

Answer 14

The psychological phenomenon of continuing to hold on to a hopeless investment for fear that what has been invested so far will be lost.