The social worker at the local mental health center noticed that clients whose workers were female were more compliant with their medications than those whose workers were male. He concluded that female workers are more nurturing and therefore, their clients are more likely to comply with treatment. This error in reasoning is:

Question

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Overgeneralization occurs when a conclusion is drawn about a population based on a sample that is not representative of the population. In this case, the social worker concluded that all female workers are more nurturing than male workers based on a sample of clients who were more compliant with their medications when their workers were female. This is an overgeneralization because it is not possible to know whether all female workers are more nurturing than male workers based on this sample.

The Social Worker at the Local Mental Health Center Noticed