Gino went out one evening and got himself a shiny new tattoo of a tribal symbol across his back. The next day, Gino's girlfriend, Shanae, ended their relationship. Mutual friends of theirs assumed that Shanae ended the relationship because of the new tattoo. These friends have not read your textbook carefully because they have just fallen prey to the ________ fallacy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The friends have fallen prey to the post hoc fallacy, which assumes that because one event occurred before another, it must have caused it. In this case, they assume that Shanae ending the relationship was caused by Gino's new tattoo simply because it happened after he got the tattoo. However, there may be other reasons for the breakup that had nothing to do with Gino's tattoo.

Gino Went Out One Evening and Got Himself a Shiny