Logical Reasoning

PT121 · S1 · Q13 Psychology professor: Applied statistics should

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Psychology professor: Applied statistics should be taught only by the various social science departments.

Psychology Professor

EVIDENCE: The various social science departments can best teach their respective students which statistical methodologies are most useful for their discipline, and how best to interpret collected data and the results of experiments.

CONCLUSION: Applied statistics should be taught only by the various social science departments.

Mathematics Professor

EVIDENCE: My applied statistics course covers much of the same material taught in the applied statistics courses in social science departments. In fact, my course uses exactly the same textbook as those courses!

CONCLUSION: Applied statistics should not be taught only by the various social science departments.

Evaluate

The mathematics professor challenges the psychology professor's recommendation but never considers the evidence put forward in it's support. That the math professor is teaching the same content does not mean that the math professor is as able to teach students in each of the social sciences which methodologies are most useful for their discipline, and how best to interpret collected data and the results of experiments.

13.

Which one of the following most accurately describes a questionable aspect of the reasoning in the mathematics professor's response to the psychology professor?

  1. The response gives no evidence

    Irrelevant Relationship

    Whether students would be willing to take the course in several departments is not relevant to whether students are best served by taking the course within their own department.

    2% picked this

  2. The response gives no evidence

    Irrelevant Relationship

    No comparison is made between the level of competence in statistics social science students should have relative to mathematics students.

    6% picked this

  3. Correct

    The response does not effectively

    Why this is right

    This correctly describes the issue in the mathematics professor's response to the psychology professor.

    Skill tested: Flaw · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    81% picked this

  4. The response depends for its

    Wrong Flaw

    This describes an ad hominem attack. The mathematics professor, however, does not personally attack anyone.

    1% picked this

  5. The response takes for granted

    Reversal

    While the mathematics professor does assume that using the same textbook implies that the course content is the same, but this answer reverses that relationship.

    11% picked this

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