Critical Thinking and Decision Making Flashcards
7 cards from real FAST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Critical Thinking and Decision Making flashcards as text
A researcher wants to determine whether a new training program improves employee performance. She compares scores before and after the program for one group. What is the main weakness of this design?
Answer: There is no control group to rule out other causes of improvement
Without a control group, improvements could be due to factors other than the training program, such as practice effects, seasonal changes, or concurrent interventions.
Which of the following best distinguishes a strong argument from a weak one in critical analysis?
Answer: A strong argument's conclusion is well-supported by relevant, credible evidence
The strength of an argument depends on whether the conclusion is logically supported by relevant and credible evidence, not on style, consensus, or assertiveness.
The 'availability heuristic' causes people to overestimate risks that are:
Answer: Easily recalled because they are vivid, recent, or heavily publicized
The availability heuristic leads people to judge the probability of events based on how easily examples come to mind, so vivid, recent, or publicized events seem more common than they are.
A project has a 60% chance of earning $120,000 and a 40% chance of losing $30,000. What is the expected value of this project?
Answer: $60,000
Expected value = (0.60 × $120,000) + (0.40 × −$30,000) = $72,000 − $12,000 = $60,000.
Which of the following is the best example of inductive reasoning?
Answer: Every customer surveyed preferred the new packaging, so the new packaging is probably more popular
Inductive reasoning draws probable but not certain conclusions from specific observations, moving from specific evidence to a general conclusion.
When faced with a complex problem, the critical thinking technique of 'breaking it into sub-problems' is most beneficial because it:
Answer: Makes each component more manageable and easier to analyze systematically
Decomposing a complex problem into smaller, more manageable sub-problems allows for systematic analysis of each component, even though the interactions between sub-problems must still be considered.
A politician argues: 'If we allow stricter gun control, eventually all guns will be banned and citizens will be defenseless.' This is an example of which fallacy?
Answer: Slippery slope
The slippery slope fallacy assumes that one action will inevitably lead to a chain of increasingly extreme consequences without providing evidence for those intermediate steps.