You see a friend of yours at a store, and her eyes are red and full of tears. You immediately go over to comfort her, assuming she has had another fight with her boyfriend. As you get to her, you ask what that "awful guy has done to her now." Your friend acts surprised that you would criticize the "love of her life." When you ask why she is crying, she tells you that her allergies are really acting up, and she is at the store to buy some allergy medicine. Your error with your friend occurred because you
A)failed to distinguish between observation and inference.
B)failed to distinguish between correlation and causation.
C)failed to consider the source of the information.
D)utilized inductive thinking rather than deductive thinking.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

You made an inference (assumption) about the cause of your friend's tears based on past observations (her having fights with her boyfriend) rather than directly observing the actual cause (allergies). This is a failure to distinguish between observation (seeing her tears) and inference (assuming the cause without direct evidence).

You See a Friend of Yours at a Store, and Her