Chapter 11

The first step of the scientific method is to identify an event or a relationship between events to be investigated.

. True

An inductive argument is only as strong as the sample on which it is based.

True

The three general guidelines to keep in mind when testing a plausible hypothesis are:

explanatory power, economy, and predictive power.

Unsound arguments that seem to be logical and are often persuasive because they usually appeal to our emotions and prejudices and often support conclusions that we want to believe are accurate are called:

fallacies.

In the fallacy of special pleading, a person argues that a practice or a way of thinking is "better" or "right" simply because it is older, it is traditional, or it has "always been done that way."

. False

Suppose you were with your best friend and you happened to mention that your favorite type of music was classical. However, your best friend tells you that only losers enjoy classical music. Since then, you have stopped listening to classical music. What type of fallacy of relevance would this be?

Bandwagon

Imagine you overhear a female student say, "My boyfriend has never shown any real concern for my feelings; therefore, all men are selfish, insensitive, and emotionally superficial!" What form of generalization would this be?

Hasty generalization

Which of the following is NOT one of the three key criteria used to evaluate inductive arguments?

Is the sample relevant?

What do we call a form of inductive reasoning where a student believes that her softball team's recent winning streak is due to the fact that she has been wearing her good luck jersey?

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Assume you explain to your friend that you are in favor of the death penalty, and your reason is that there are too many people in the world anyway. What form of fallacy of relevance would this be?

Red herring

A mother tells her child that if he doesn't do his homework, he will get failing grades, probably drop out of school, be unable to get a job, and then become homeless. What type of causal fallacy is this?

Slippery slope

According to ethical theorists, autonomy is one of the first virtues, and people should be free to make their own decisions about things that pertain to them. Therefore, voluntary euthanasia is morally correct. This is an example of what type of generalization?

Sweeping generalization

Fallacies are unsound arguments that seem to be logical and are often persuasive because they usually appeal to our emotions and prejudices and often support conclusions that we want to believe are accurate.

True

The fallacy of questionable cause occurs when someone presents a causal relationship for which no real evidence exists.

True

Scientists use a reasoning strategy called controlled experiment that can be set up in three ways: cause-to-effect, effect-to-cause, and cause-to-cause.

False

The translation of the Latin phrase post hoc ergo propter hoc is "Because of it, therefore after it."

False

Imagine you are out shopping for sneakers with your eight-year-old child. He says to you, "We have to buy Nike sneakers because that's what Michael Jordan wears." What form of fallacy of relevance would this be?

Appeal to authority

Suppose that you are having a disagreement with a teacher, and the teacher says to you, "If you continue to disagree with my assessment, I am afraid you won't get a very good grade in my class." What form of fallacy of relevance would this be?

Appeal to fear

A form of inductive reasoning that is defined as reasoning from a limited sample to a general conclusion based on this sample is known as:

empirical generalization.

The argument form in which one reasons from premises that are known or assumed to be true to a conclusion that is supported by the premises but does not necessarily follow from them is called:

inductive reasoning.

A hasty generalization is one in which the conclusions are hasty because the interpreter of the data does not take the proper precautions in compiling and organizing the data.

False

Although generalizing and interpreting are useful in forming concepts, they also can give rise to fallacious ways of thinking, including hasty generalizations, faulty conclusions, and improper interpretations.

False

If we are to generalize with confidence from the sample to the target population, then we have to be sure that the population is large enough to be evenly distributed around a mean, creating a bell-shaped curve in distribution.

False

What type of fallacy of false generalization is also known as the "either/or" fallacy or the "black-or-white" fallacy?

False dilemma

A possible explanation introduced to account for a set of facts and that can be used as a basis for further investigation is called a(n):

hypothesis