ATI CRITICAL THINKING FINAL EXAM 2024/2025 QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS/ ALREADY GRADED
A++
Becoming an Informed/Critical News Consumer - ANSWER -Democracy
depends on an informed citizenry, and it is vital that citizens recognize bias,
slanting, and propaganda in news coverage;
-Any set of events can be viewed and interpreted from multiple points of
view. News consumers should be open to a range of viewpoints and to
question their own.
-To achieve objectivity, one must distinguish between facts and
opinion/spin.
-Two genuine forms of objectivity are "the objectivity of intellectual humility"
(knowledge of one's own ignorance) and "the objectivity of fair-minded,
multi-dimensional thinking."
-An inauthentic version is "sophistic objectivity" where multiple viewpoints
are considered and then dismissed to protect the status quo.
-The major media fosters sociocentric thinking, reflecting national and
cultural bias. (Sociocentrism is seeing social conventions, beliefs and
taboos of your society as "the only correct way to live and think," according
to Paul and Elder.)
-There is a bias in the mainstream news media towards reporting what is
novel, strange, or sensational. This leads to news reporting which ignores
important stories while the sensational is blown out of proportion.
How do critical thinkers approach the news as a source of information and
avoid being manipulated? - ANSWER -looking at events from multiple
perspectives.
-assessing news stories for clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth,
and significance.
-noticing the contradictions and inconsistencies, questionable implicit
assumptions, and disputed facts in stories.
-questioning the sociocentrism in media accounts.
Three Types of Thinker (Paul and Elder) - ANSWER Uncritical Persons
Skilled manipulators
Fair-minded critical persons
Uncritical Persons - ANSWER Intellectually unskilled thinkers
,Socially conditioned beliefs
Personal beliefs often grounded in prejudice
Motivated by irrationality, personal vanity, intellectual arrogance
Prone to emotional counter-attacks when thinking is questioned
See themselves as "good" and opponents as "evil"
Skilled manipulators - ANSWER Weak-sense critical thinkers
Skilled in manipulation
Pursue self-interest
Employ manipulation, domination, demagoguery
Try to keep other points of view from being heard
Fair-minded critical persons - ANSWER Strong-sense critical thinkers
Reject manipulation and controlling others
Combine critical thinking skills with desire to serve public good
Want all points of view expressed
Want manipulative persuasion exposed
ad hominem - ANSWER Dismissing an argument by attacking the person
who offers it rather than by refuting its reasoning. -The tort reform
legislation must be worth supporting because the greedy trial lawyers all
oppose it.
appeal to authority - ANSWER To justify support for a position by citing an
esteemed or well-known figure who supports it. An appeal to authority does
not address the merit of the position.
appeal to experience - ANSWER Claiming to speak with the "voice of
experience" in support of an argument (even when that experience may not
be relevant).
appeal to fear - ANSWER Citing a threat or possibility of a frightening
outcome as the reason for supporting an argument. This threat can be
physical or emotional: the idea is to invoke fear. This is sometimes termed
"scare tactics."
appeal to popularity/ popular passions - ANSWER Citing majority sentiment
or popular opinion as the reason for supporting a claim. It assumes that any
position favored by the larger crowd must be true or worthy.
,begging the question - ANSWER Asserting a conclusion that is assumed in
the reasoning. The reason given to support the conclusion restates the
conclusion.
attacking evidence - ANSWER This approach focuses on discrediting the
underlying evidence for an argument and thereby questioning its validity.
denying inconsistencies - ANSWER Refusing to admit contradictions or
inconsistencies when making an argument or defending a position.
either-or - ANSWER Assuming only two alternatives when, in reality, there
are more than two. It implies that one of two outcomes is inevitable—either
x or y.
evading questions - ANSWER Avoiding direct and truthful answers to
difficult questions through diversionary tactics, vagueness, or deliberately
confusing or complex responses.
faulty analogy - ANSWER Drawing an invalid comparison between things
for the purpose of either supporting or refuting some position. A faulty
analogy suggests that because two things are alike in some respect, they
must be alike in other respects.
hard-cruel-world argument - ANSWER Justifying illegal or unethical
practices by arguing that they are necessary to confront a greater evil or
threat.
hasty generalization - ANSWER Inferring a general proposition about
something based on too small a sample or an unrepresentative sample.
red herring - ANSWER Introducing an irrelevant point or topic to divert
attention from the issue at hand. It is a tactic for confusing the point under
debate.
search for perfect solution - ANSWER Asserting that a solution is not worth
adopting because it does not fix the problem completely.
slippery slope - ANSWER To suggest that a step or action, once taken, will
lead inevitably to similar steps or actions with presumably undesirable
, consequences. The fallacy is invoked to justify not taking a given initial step
or action, lest it lead us down the "slippery slope."
straw man - ANSWER Distorting or exaggerating an opponent's argument
so that it might be more easily attacked.
thrown-in statistics - ANSWER The use of irrelevant, misleading, or
questionable statistics to support an argument or defend a position.
two wrongs make a right - ANSWER Defending or justifying our wrong
position or conduct by pointing to a similar wrong done by someone else.
treating abstracts as reality - ANSWER Citing abstract concepts (freedom,
justice, science) to support an argument or to call for action.
ad hominem - ANSWER The tort reform legislation must be worth
supporting because the greedy trial lawyers all oppose it.
appeal to authority - ANSWER I support Third World debt relief because U2
front man Bono has tirelessly advocated this position.
appeal to popularity - ANSWER If the majority of lawmakers favor tort
reform, then it's good enough for me.
begging the question - ANSWER Mercy killing is immoral because the
taking of innocent life is morally wrong.
either-or - ANSWER If you don't invest your nest egg in the stock market,
you might as well just stuff it under the mattress.
faulty analogy - ANSWER Reducing taxes to spur job growth is like cutting
calories to gain weight.
hasty generalization - ANSWER That rookie quarterback is lousy. In his
first 2 games as a pro, he threw 4 interceptions and no touchdowns. He's a
bust!
search for perfect solution - ANSWER The immigration reform law has its
merits. But I cannot support it because it fails to address the problem of
illegal immigration on all fronts.
AND VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS/ ALREADY GRADED
A++
Becoming an Informed/Critical News Consumer - ANSWER -Democracy
depends on an informed citizenry, and it is vital that citizens recognize bias,
slanting, and propaganda in news coverage;
-Any set of events can be viewed and interpreted from multiple points of
view. News consumers should be open to a range of viewpoints and to
question their own.
-To achieve objectivity, one must distinguish between facts and
opinion/spin.
-Two genuine forms of objectivity are "the objectivity of intellectual humility"
(knowledge of one's own ignorance) and "the objectivity of fair-minded,
multi-dimensional thinking."
-An inauthentic version is "sophistic objectivity" where multiple viewpoints
are considered and then dismissed to protect the status quo.
-The major media fosters sociocentric thinking, reflecting national and
cultural bias. (Sociocentrism is seeing social conventions, beliefs and
taboos of your society as "the only correct way to live and think," according
to Paul and Elder.)
-There is a bias in the mainstream news media towards reporting what is
novel, strange, or sensational. This leads to news reporting which ignores
important stories while the sensational is blown out of proportion.
How do critical thinkers approach the news as a source of information and
avoid being manipulated? - ANSWER -looking at events from multiple
perspectives.
-assessing news stories for clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth,
and significance.
-noticing the contradictions and inconsistencies, questionable implicit
assumptions, and disputed facts in stories.
-questioning the sociocentrism in media accounts.
Three Types of Thinker (Paul and Elder) - ANSWER Uncritical Persons
Skilled manipulators
Fair-minded critical persons
Uncritical Persons - ANSWER Intellectually unskilled thinkers
,Socially conditioned beliefs
Personal beliefs often grounded in prejudice
Motivated by irrationality, personal vanity, intellectual arrogance
Prone to emotional counter-attacks when thinking is questioned
See themselves as "good" and opponents as "evil"
Skilled manipulators - ANSWER Weak-sense critical thinkers
Skilled in manipulation
Pursue self-interest
Employ manipulation, domination, demagoguery
Try to keep other points of view from being heard
Fair-minded critical persons - ANSWER Strong-sense critical thinkers
Reject manipulation and controlling others
Combine critical thinking skills with desire to serve public good
Want all points of view expressed
Want manipulative persuasion exposed
ad hominem - ANSWER Dismissing an argument by attacking the person
who offers it rather than by refuting its reasoning. -The tort reform
legislation must be worth supporting because the greedy trial lawyers all
oppose it.
appeal to authority - ANSWER To justify support for a position by citing an
esteemed or well-known figure who supports it. An appeal to authority does
not address the merit of the position.
appeal to experience - ANSWER Claiming to speak with the "voice of
experience" in support of an argument (even when that experience may not
be relevant).
appeal to fear - ANSWER Citing a threat or possibility of a frightening
outcome as the reason for supporting an argument. This threat can be
physical or emotional: the idea is to invoke fear. This is sometimes termed
"scare tactics."
appeal to popularity/ popular passions - ANSWER Citing majority sentiment
or popular opinion as the reason for supporting a claim. It assumes that any
position favored by the larger crowd must be true or worthy.
,begging the question - ANSWER Asserting a conclusion that is assumed in
the reasoning. The reason given to support the conclusion restates the
conclusion.
attacking evidence - ANSWER This approach focuses on discrediting the
underlying evidence for an argument and thereby questioning its validity.
denying inconsistencies - ANSWER Refusing to admit contradictions or
inconsistencies when making an argument or defending a position.
either-or - ANSWER Assuming only two alternatives when, in reality, there
are more than two. It implies that one of two outcomes is inevitable—either
x or y.
evading questions - ANSWER Avoiding direct and truthful answers to
difficult questions through diversionary tactics, vagueness, or deliberately
confusing or complex responses.
faulty analogy - ANSWER Drawing an invalid comparison between things
for the purpose of either supporting or refuting some position. A faulty
analogy suggests that because two things are alike in some respect, they
must be alike in other respects.
hard-cruel-world argument - ANSWER Justifying illegal or unethical
practices by arguing that they are necessary to confront a greater evil or
threat.
hasty generalization - ANSWER Inferring a general proposition about
something based on too small a sample or an unrepresentative sample.
red herring - ANSWER Introducing an irrelevant point or topic to divert
attention from the issue at hand. It is a tactic for confusing the point under
debate.
search for perfect solution - ANSWER Asserting that a solution is not worth
adopting because it does not fix the problem completely.
slippery slope - ANSWER To suggest that a step or action, once taken, will
lead inevitably to similar steps or actions with presumably undesirable
, consequences. The fallacy is invoked to justify not taking a given initial step
or action, lest it lead us down the "slippery slope."
straw man - ANSWER Distorting or exaggerating an opponent's argument
so that it might be more easily attacked.
thrown-in statistics - ANSWER The use of irrelevant, misleading, or
questionable statistics to support an argument or defend a position.
two wrongs make a right - ANSWER Defending or justifying our wrong
position or conduct by pointing to a similar wrong done by someone else.
treating abstracts as reality - ANSWER Citing abstract concepts (freedom,
justice, science) to support an argument or to call for action.
ad hominem - ANSWER The tort reform legislation must be worth
supporting because the greedy trial lawyers all oppose it.
appeal to authority - ANSWER I support Third World debt relief because U2
front man Bono has tirelessly advocated this position.
appeal to popularity - ANSWER If the majority of lawmakers favor tort
reform, then it's good enough for me.
begging the question - ANSWER Mercy killing is immoral because the
taking of innocent life is morally wrong.
either-or - ANSWER If you don't invest your nest egg in the stock market,
you might as well just stuff it under the mattress.
faulty analogy - ANSWER Reducing taxes to spur job growth is like cutting
calories to gain weight.
hasty generalization - ANSWER That rookie quarterback is lousy. In his
first 2 games as a pro, he threw 4 interceptions and no touchdowns. He's a
bust!
search for perfect solution - ANSWER The immigration reform law has its
merits. But I cannot support it because it fails to address the problem of
illegal immigration on all fronts.
