GRT Critical Thinking Flashcards

Which of the following is the strongest counter-argument to the claim: 'Banning fast food advertising will reduce childhood obesity'?

Answer: Children's food choices are primarily driven by parental habits and availability, not advertising alone

This counter-argument challenges the assumption that advertising is the primary driver of childhood obesity by pointing to more influential factors.

In a deductive argument, if both premises are true and the argument is valid, the conclusion is:

Answer: Necessarily true

In a valid deductive argument, if both premises are true, the conclusion must be true — that is what makes deductive reasoning conclusive.

An analyst says: 'Our top 10 clients all reported high satisfaction, so all our clients must be satisfied.' What is the flaw?

Answer: Hasty generalization from an unrepresentative sample

Generalizing from only the top 10 clients — who are likely the most satisfied — to all clients is a hasty generalization using a biased sample.

Which of the following is an example of 'begging the question' (circular reasoning)?

Answer: 'The report is reliable because it was written by a reliable author, which we know because they write reliable reports.'

Circular reasoning uses the conclusion as a premise to support itself, providing no independent evidence.

A team leader argues that a project failed because the budget was cut. A colleague argues it failed due to poor communication. Both are presenting:

Answer: Competing causal explanations for the same outcome

Both team members are offering different causal explanations for why the project failed, which may each be partially valid.

Which question is MOST useful when critically evaluating a statistic presented in a business report?

Answer: What was the methodology used to collect and analyze the data?

Understanding the methodology helps determine whether the data was collected and interpreted in a valid and unbiased way.