Self-study
Although many political candidates object to being made the target of advertising designed to cast them in an adverse light, Conclusion such advertising actually benefits its targets because Support most elections have been won by candidates who were the targets of that kind of advertising.
Method of Reasoning
The argument concludes that one factor causes another (attack ads cause politicians to become elected), despite claims to the contrary. This is because of a correlation between the two factors.
Identify and Describe Flaw
This argument features bad causal reasoning, since a correlation cannot fully support a conclusion of causation. For instance, the ads could still have been harmful, but perhaps the candidates offset that harm through better campaigning, more money spent on advertising, etc. It’s like concluding that injuries help people play basketball, since most NBA players have been injured.
7.
The pattern of flawed reasoning ██ ███ ████████ ████ ███████ █████████ ████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ ██████████
a
Although many people ███████ ████████ █████████ ████ ██████ ████████ ███████ ██ ██ █ ████ ███ ██ ███████ █████ ███████ ███████
Wrong flaw. (A) prescriptively concludes that people should exercise on the basis that it’s good for health, but the premise is purely factual and cannot prove a prescriptive claim. The stimulus, meanwhile, concludes causation based on a correlation, so (A) doesn’t match.
b
Although many actors ███████ █████ ███████ ██ █████ █████ ████ ███████ ████████ ████ █████ ███████ ███████ ████ ██ ███ ██████ ███████████ ██████ ██████ ████ ████ ██ ██████ ███ ████ ███ ████████████ ██ ██████ ████████ ████████
(B) concludes that one factor causes another (harsh reviews cause actors to win prestigious awards), despite claims to the contrary. This is because of a correlation between the two factors. The stimulus also concludes causation based on a correlation, so (B) matches.
c
Although many students ███████ █████████ ██ ████ ██ █ ████ ███ ██ ███████ ████████ ███████ ███████ ████ ████████ ███ █████ ████ █████ ████████
No flaw. If most students who study pass their courses, it’s reasonable to conclude that studying helped them pass. We’re looking for a flawed causal argument, so (C) doesn’t match.
d
Although many film ███████ ███████ ██████ ██████ ████ █████ ███ █████ ██ ██ ██████████ ███████ █ █████ ██████ ██ ██████ ███ █████ ██ ██████ █████
Wrong flaw. (D) tells us that many people want to see horror films, but we cannot equate that with the films being successful. We have no definition of what a successful film is, so we can’t make that jump. The stimulus, meanwhile, concludes causation based on a correlation, so (D) doesn’t match.
e
Although many people ███████ ███████ ██████ ██ █ ██████ ██ ███████ ██ ████ ███ ████████ ██████ ████ ██████████ ████ ██ ██████████ ██ █████ ███ ██████████ ██ ███████ ████ ██████ ███ ████ ██ ████ █████ █████ ███
Wrong flaw. (E) concludes that people must be okay with the consequences of their actions (being tired after staying up late) because they enjoy the action itself. It overlooks the fact that people might not think about the consequences of staying up late despite enjoying it. The stimulus, meanwhile, concludes causation based on a correlation, so (E) doesn’t match.