Vaughn Causal Arguments Full Test Bank Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Causal Arguments

Test Bank

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 01

1. Causal arguments are a kind of…

a. Deductive argument

b. Valid inference

c. Inductive argument

d. Argument by analogy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 02

2. A sufficient condition for the occurrence of an event is…

a. One that guarantees that the event occurs

b. One without which the event cannot occur

c. One that is improbable

d. One that cannot guarantee that the event occurs

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 03

3. If the premises of a strong causal argument are true, then the conclusion is…

a. Necessarily true

b. Probably true

c. Certainly true

d. Logically guaranteed

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 04

4. Given the ordinary laws of statistics, incredible coincidences are…

a. Always evidence of causal connections

b. Evidence of the paranormal

c. Impossible

d. Common and must occur

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 05

5. A necessary condition for the occurrence of an event is…

a. One that guarantees that the event occurs

b. One without which the event cannot occur

c. One that cannot guarantee that the event occurs

d. Unlikely

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 06

6. The rule of thumb for distinguishing coincidence from cause and effect is…

a. Don’t assume that a causal connection exists unless you have good reason for doing so

b. Don’t assume that a causal connection exists unless your assumption is beyond doubt

c. There is no such thing as coincidence

d. Don’t ever assume that a causal connection exists

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 07

7. A necessary condition for the occurrence of an event is one without which the event…

a. Is guaranteed to occur

b. Would be delayed

c. Cannot occur

d. Would be unknown

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 08

8. A sufficient condition for the occurrence of an event is one that…

a. Ensures that the event cannot occur

b. Guarantees that the event occurs

c. Is negligible

d. Might or might not precipitate the event

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 09

9. The most common kind of argument used to reason to a causal conclusion is…

a. Inference to the best explanation

b. Enumerative induction

c. Argument by analogy

d. Hypothetical syllogism

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 10

10. When we confuse cause with temporal order, we are guilty of the fallacy called…

a. Causal miscalculation

b. Hasty generalization

c. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc

d. Gambler’s fallacy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 11

11. When we answer a question about what causes what, we make a. . .

a. Representative statement

b. Sampling assertion

c. Necessary condition claim

d. Causal claim

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 12

12. A modified version of Mill’s Method of Agreement says that if two or more occurrences of a phenomenon have only one relevant factor in common, …

a. The occurrence is acausal

b. The occurrence has two causes

c. That factor must be the cause

d. That factor can be discounted

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 13

13. Mill’s (modified) Method of Difference says that the relevant factor present when a phenomenon occurs and absent when the phenomenon does not occur…

a. Is irrelevant

b. Must be the cause

c. Makes no difference

d. Cannot be the cause

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 14

14. The Method of Concomitant Variation says that when two events are correlated—when one varies in close connection with the other—they are probably…

a. Causally related

b. Related in a post hoc fashion

c. Uncaused

d. Coincidentally related

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 15

15. This argument—“John’s headache went away after he drank a cup of coffee. The coffee cured his headache.”—illustrates…

a. The post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy

b. The scientific method

c. Deductive reasoning

d. The tu quoque fallacy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 16

16. People are especially prone to “it can’t be just coincidence” thinking because …

a. They are too good at judging probabilities

b. They misjudge the probabilities involved

c. They know that every event has a cause

d. Every event is unlikely

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 17

17. Confusing cause and effect…

a. Is an easy mistake to make in everyday life as well as in science

b. Almost never happens in everyday life

c. Is not a problem in science

d. Never has any dire consequences in the real world

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 18

18. Scientists usually assume that a correlation between two events means that…

a. The correlation is meaningless

b. No cause is present

c. One event causes the other

d. The connection may or may not be causal

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 19

19. Your ability to identify relevant factors in causal connections depends mostly on…

a. Acausal factors

b. Expert opinion

c. Your background knowledge

d. Your knowledge of physics

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 20

20. The many correlations between the lives of JFK and Abraham Lincoln show that…

a. The correlations are actually causal connections

b. Finding such correlations is extremely difficult

c. The two presidents were somehow psychically linked

d. Such correlations are extremely easy to find.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 01

1. What is a causal argument and what are Mill’s criteria for judging its strength?

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 02

2. How can the post hoc fallacy lead someone to serious harm?

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 03

3. How can someone be misled by coincidence?

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 04

4. What is an example of confusing cause and effect in everyday situations?

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 09 Question 05

5. What are necessary and sufficient conditions? Are there necessary and sufficient conditions for combustion? Explain.