ISAT Identifying Assumptions in Arguments 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Argument: 'Because this country has the highest per-capita chocolate consumption, it must also have the highest rate of happiness.' What assumption underlies this claim?
- Chocolate contains compounds that chemically produce happiness
- Chocolate consumption is a valid indicator of overall national happiness (Correct answer)
- Wealthier countries tend to consume more chocolate
- Happiness is primarily determined by dietary choices
Correct answer: Chocolate consumption is a valid indicator of overall national happiness
The argument assumes a correlation between chocolate consumption and happiness reflects a meaningful relationship worth concluding from.
Question 2: Argument: 'My grandfather smoked his whole life and lived to 95, so smoking cannot be as dangerous as scientists claim.' What assumption is made here?
- Scientists have exaggerated health risks for commercial reasons
- A single person's experience is representative of the general population's risk (Correct answer)
- Modern cigarettes are less harmful than those smoked by earlier generations
- Longevity is the only relevant measure of health impact
Correct answer: A single person's experience is representative of the general population's risk
The argument assumes one anecdote can refute statistical evidence drawn from large population studies.
Question 3: Argument: 'Every successful entrepreneur I know dropped out of college; college degrees are therefore unnecessary for business success.' What assumption is present?
- College education actively harms entrepreneurial thinking
- The entrepreneurs known to the speaker are a representative sample of all successful entrepreneurs (Correct answer)
- Business success should be measured only by financial profit
- Dropping out of college frees time for business development
Correct answer: The entrepreneurs known to the speaker are a representative sample of all successful entrepreneurs
The argument assumes that personal acquaintances constitute a representative sample, ignoring selection bias.
Question 4: Argument: 'The report states that Exercise X burns 500 calories per session. Sarah does Exercise X daily, so she will lose weight.' Which assumption does this depend on?
- Weight loss requires burning at least 500 calories per day
- Sarah's caloric intake does not increase enough to offset the calories burned (Correct answer)
- Exercise X is safe for people of Sarah's age and fitness level
- Daily exercise is always superior to less frequent intense exercise
Correct answer: Sarah's caloric intake does not increase enough to offset the calories burned
The argument assumes Sarah won't compensate by eating more, which is necessary for the calorie deficit to produce weight loss.
Question 5: Argument: 'Nations that invest heavily in education have stronger economies; therefore, investing in education causes economic growth.' What assumption is this based on?
- Economic growth always precedes educational investment historically
- The correlation between education spending and economic strength reflects causation rather than reverse causation or a third factor (Correct answer)
- Education spending is more effective than infrastructure investment
- Stronger economies spend a higher percentage of GDP on education
Correct answer: The correlation between education spending and economic strength reflects causation rather than reverse causation or a third factor
The argument assumes the observed correlation reflects a causal direction, ignoring that wealthy economies can afford to spend more on education.
Question 6: Argument: 'Since violent video games became popular, youth violence statistics have increased; violent games must be causing youth violence.' What assumption does this rely on?
- Video game developers intentionally promote violent behavior
- The temporal coincidence reflects a causal relationship between gaming and violence (Correct answer)
- Youth violence was negligible before video games were invented
- Parents are less involved in monitoring their children's media consumption today
Correct answer: The temporal coincidence reflects a causal relationship between gaming and violence
The argument assumes that because two trends occurred simultaneously, one caused the other — a classic post hoc fallacy.
Question 7: Argument: 'People in rural areas report higher life satisfaction than city dwellers; moving to the countryside would therefore make most people happier.' What assumption is present?
- Rural areas have lower costs of living than urban centers
- Life satisfaction in rural areas is caused by the rural environment rather than self-selection of satisfied people into rural living (Correct answer)
- Urban dwellers are generally less social than rural inhabitants
- Access to nature is the primary determinant of life satisfaction
Correct answer: Life satisfaction in rural areas is caused by the rural environment rather than self-selection of satisfied people into rural living
The argument ignores that happier people may choose rural living, making it wrong to assume the environment itself produces the satisfaction.
ISAT Identifying Assumptions in Arguments 3
Argument: 'Because this country has the highest per-capita chocolate consumption, it must also have the highest rate of happiness.' What assumption underlies this claim?