Question

The jungle-gym area in our community park is becoming a safety hazard and should be shut down(1). Countless nights this week, I have spotted teenagers hanging around the jungle-gym well after official park hours(2). Research shows that people are far more likely to get injured playing in the dark and especially while playing on jungle-gyms(3). The teens in our community are out of control(4). Everyone knows how easily things can get out of hand when young people are unsupervised(5). The only logical thing to do is to remove the jungle-gym(6). If not, the park area could quickly become a hang out for all kinds of people, even criminals(7). Then, our entire neighborhood would go down the tubes, our property would lose value, and everyone would suffer(8).
Answer the following questions:

a. Which sentences contain an example of a loose or hasty generalization?
b. Identify sentences containing an example of either/or thinking.
c. Identify sentences illustrating an example of slippery slope thinking.
d. Identify a sentence which contains an example of a cause-effect error.

Answer 1

Answer: Please refer to Explanation

Explanation:

a. The teens in our community are out of control(4).

Everyone knows how easily things can get out of hand when young people are unsupervised(5).

A Hasty Generalization occurs when a thought is reached that something definitely works in a certain way simply because you have seen it work in that way a couple of times. For example, some Italians are Mobsters so all Italians are monsters. In this scenario we can't possibly have any way of knowing that all the teens are out of control neither can we tell for sure that things get out of hand when young people are unsupervised.

b. The jungle-gym area in our community park is becoming a safety hazard and should be shut down(1).

The only logical thing to do is to remove the jungle-gym(6).

When we speak of Either/or Thinking this is when a statement about something is made in plain terms with no regard for other mitigating conditions that may be involved that can make things complicated. For example, he got shot by the police so he must be a criminal when in actuality he was shot by a stray bullet when he was in the vicinity of a shootout.

Saying that the Jungle gym should be shut-down because it is a safety harzard and that it is the only logical thing to do is such thinking as it leaves no room for other considerations.

c. If not, the park area could quickly become a hang out for all kinds of people, even criminals(7).

Then, our entire neighborhood would go down the tubes, our property would lose value, and everyone would suffer(8).

A slippery slope thinking refers to the type of thinking that comes when people begin to imagine the worst things that could happen as a result of an event occuring or starting.

Notice how in these two sentences the thought quickly went from all kinds of people to criminals to property value loss and then to low welfare for everyone.

d. The only logical thing to do is to remove the jungle-gym(6)

This is a Cause-Effect error because Cause - Effect errors explain a situation where people believe that a certain variable is the reason that another variable is occuring when in fact it might not be relatable or might not be the only reason.

With this sentence the speaker seems to believe that removing the Jungle Gym would resolve all the problems listed when in fact there could be other reasons for the problems listed. For instance, people will still get injured when they play in the dark regardless of if they do it at the Jungle gym or not.