Your friend notices that U.S. auto production and U.S. population growth have moved together over several decades. He reasons that one way to slow population growth is for the government to order the auto makers to cut back on production. You gently point out to him that he:
A) would be correct only when the economy was in a recession.
B) has committed the fallacy that association is causation.
C) has ignored the secondary effects.
D) has committed the fallacy of composition.
E) would be correct only if the United States enjoyed a high rate of economic growth.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fallacy of association is causation assumes that because two variables are associated, one must be causing the other. In reality, there may be other factors at play that are causing both variables to move in the same direction, or the association may be purely coincidental. In this case, there is no evidence to suggest that auto production is causing population growth, so the suggestion that government should limit auto production to slow population growth is not based on sound reasoning.

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