Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Recognizing Unstated Assumptions Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Statement: 'We need to hire more data analysts because our company's future success depends on making data-driven decisions.' Which of the following is an unstated assumption made by the speaker?
- The company currently has a sufficient number of employees in other departments.
- Data-driven decisions are always more profitable than decisions based on intuition.
- The company currently lacks the capacity to make the quantity or quality of data-driven decisions required for future success. (Correct answer)
- Data analysts are the only employees who can contribute to data-driven decisions.
Correct answer: The company currently lacks the capacity to make the quantity or quality of data-driven decisions required for future success.
The speaker's call to hire more data analysts is based on the unstated belief that the current team is insufficient to meet the company's needs for making data-driven decisions for future success. The argument's logic rests on this presumed gap between current capacity and future requirements.
Question 2: Scenario: A city council member argues, 'We must invest in building a new light rail system to alleviate traffic congestion.' What is a necessary assumption underlying this argument?
- A significant number of commuters will choose to use the new light rail system instead of driving their cars. (Correct answer)
- The new light rail system will be the most expensive infrastructure project the city has ever undertaken.
- Existing public transportation options, like buses, are currently operating at maximum capacity.
- Traffic congestion is the single most important issue facing the city today.
Correct answer: A significant number of commuters will choose to use the new light rail system instead of driving their cars.
The argument that a light rail system will alleviate traffic congestion only holds if people actually use it. The unstated, but necessary, assumption is that a sufficient portion of the driving population will switch to the light rail, thereby reducing the number of cars on the road.
Question 3: Statement: 'Our company is implementing a mandatory wellness program for all employees to reduce healthcare costs.' Which of the following is an assumption the company is making?
- All employees will willingly participate in the wellness program.
- The wellness program will be the only factor influencing the company's healthcare costs.
- Employees' health behaviors have a significant impact on the company's healthcare costs. (Correct answer)
- The wellness program will improve employee morale and productivity.
Correct answer: Employees' health behaviors have a significant impact on the company's healthcare costs.
The statement logically connects the wellness program to the goal of reducing healthcare costs. This connection depends on the unstated assumption that employee health is a major driver of those costs. If employee health had no impact, the program would not achieve its stated financial goal.
Question 4: Scenario: A marketing director states, 'We should shift our entire advertising budget to social media platforms because that's where younger consumers spend most of their time.' Which of the following is an unstated assumption in this line of reasoning?
- Traditional advertising mediums like television and print are no longer effective for any demographic.
- Social media advertising is less expensive than traditional advertising.
- The company has the expertise to create effective social media advertising campaigns.
- The presence of younger consumers on social media platforms will directly translate into sales for the company's products. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The presence of younger consumers on social media platforms will directly translate into sales for the company's products.
The argument leaps from 'young people are on social media' to 'we should advertise there.' This leap requires the assumption that reaching this audience on these platforms will lead to the ultimate goal of advertising, which is sales. It assumes that presence and attention will convert to revenue.
Question 5: Statement: 'To improve our national security, we must increase surveillance of all digital communications.' Which of the following assumptions is necessary for this argument to be valid?
- Increased surveillance will not infringe upon citizens' right to privacy.
- The current level of surveillance is inadequate to prevent security threats. (Correct answer)
- Terrorists and other threats to national security exclusively use digital communication.
- Other countries with high levels of surveillance have lower crime rates.
Correct answer: The current level of surveillance is inadequate to prevent security threats.
The proposal to 'increase' surveillance is logically founded on the unstated premise that the 'current' level is insufficient. If the current level were already adequate, there would be no logical reason to increase it to improve security.
Question 6: Scenario: An educational consultant advises a school district, 'Every student should be provided with a personal laptop to improve academic outcomes.' Which of the following is an unstated assumption made by the consultant?
- The school district can afford to provide a personal laptop to every student.
- Students currently lack sufficient access to technology to support their learning. (Correct answer)
- Teachers will not require any additional training to integrate laptops into their curriculum.
- Providing personal laptops is the only way to improve academic outcomes.
Correct answer: Students currently lack sufficient access to technology to support their learning.
The recommendation to provide laptops as a solution to improve academic outcomes presupposes that there is a problem to be solved – specifically, that students' current access to technology is a limiting factor for their academic success. If students already had adequate access, providing more laptops would not necessarily lead to improvement.
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Recognizing Unstated Assumptions Questions and Answers
Statement: 'We need to hire more data analysts because our company's future success depends on making data-driven decisions.' Which of the following is an unstated assumption made by the speaker?