Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A city council member proposes a new recycling initiative. An opponent responds, "We shouldn't listen to this proposal. The council member was fined last year for a zoning violation on their own property, so how can they be trusted to make good decisions for the city?"
- Straw Man
- Ad Hominem (Correct answer)
- Slippery Slope
- Hasty Generalization
Correct answer: Ad Hominem
The opponent commits an Ad Hominem fallacy by attacking the character and past actions of the council member instead of addressing the merits or flaws of the recycling proposal itself.
Question 2: Which of the following statements best exemplifies a "False Dilemma" fallacy?
- "If we don't approve this new security software immediately, our company will inevitably suffer a catastrophic data breach." (Correct answer)
- "Every successful tech company has an open-office floor plan; therefore, we must adopt one to be successful."
- "Our sales have increased every month since we hired the new marketing director, so she is clearly the cause of our success."
- "The new CEO is a poor public speaker, so his business strategy must be flawed."
Correct answer: "If we don't approve this new security software immediately, our company will inevitably suffer a catastrophic data breach."
This statement presents only two extreme outcomes (approve the software or face catastrophe) and ignores other possibilities, such as implementing alternative security measures, phasing in the software, or the possibility that a breach is not inevitable. This is a classic "either/or" fallacy.
Question 3: A manager states, "Two weeks ago, we started providing free coffee in the breakroom. This week, productivity is up by 15%. The free coffee is clearly boosting our team's performance." The manager's conclusion is most vulnerable to criticism because it commits which logical fallacy?
- Appeal to Authority
- Circular Reasoning
- Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (Correct answer)
- Red Herring
Correct answer: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
The manager commits the Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (after this, therefore because of this) fallacy by assuming that because the productivity increase happened after the free coffee was introduced, the coffee must be the cause. This conclusion ignores other potential factors that could have influenced productivity.
Question 4: A project manager suggests, "I think we should allocate more time for quality assurance testing in our next development cycle." A colleague responds, "So you're saying we should stop all new development and just test things forever? That's completely impractical." The colleague's response is an example of which fallacy?
- Straw Man (Correct answer)
- Ad Hominem
- False Dilemma
- Appeal to Popularity
Correct answer: Straw Man
The colleague employs a Straw Man fallacy by misrepresenting the project manager's modest suggestion ("allocate more time") and exaggerating it into an extreme and indefensible position ("stop all new development and test forever") to make it easier to attack.
Question 5: During a debate about allowing employees to use social media for 15 minutes during their lunch break, a manager argues, "If we allow this, employees will start using it all day. Productivity will plummet, deadlines will be missed, and eventually, the entire company will fail."
- Hasty Generalization
- Red Herring
- Circular Reasoning
- Slippery Slope (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Slippery Slope
The manager's argument is a Slippery Slope fallacy. It asserts that a relatively small first step (15 minutes of social media) will inevitably lead to a chain of negative events culminating in a disastrous outcome (company failure), without providing sufficient evidence for this chain reaction.
Question 6: Which of the following arguments relies on the "Appeal to Popularity" fallacy?
- "This project management software is the best on the market; it won the industry's top award for innovation last year."
- "Our two biggest competitors have both switched to this new accounting platform, so we should switch too or we'll be left behind." (Correct answer)
- "The CEO has endorsed this new strategic direction, therefore it is the correct path for the company."
- "We must either double our marketing budget or accept a significant loss in market share this year."
Correct answer: "Our two biggest competitors have both switched to this new accounting platform, so we should switch too or we'll be left behind."
This argument commits the Appeal to Popularity (or Bandwagon) fallacy. It suggests that the company should adopt the platform simply because other popular or successful companies are doing it, rather than basing the decision on the platform's merits for their specific needs.
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies Questions and Answers
A city council member proposes a new recycling initiative.
An opponent responds, "We shouldn't listen to this proposal.
The council member was fined last year for a zoning violation on their own property, so how can they be trusted to make good decisions for the city?"