Critical Thinking Logical Fallacy: Everybody Agrees

Do any of these recent quotes sound familiar?

• “48 percent of likely U.S. voters agree more with Senator Walker than with the unions”
• “Only 21% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that the President is performing in his role”
• “Thirty-six percent of voters nationwide believe that their state government employees are paid more than comparable private sector workers.”
• “Seventy-one percent of Democrats say the changes will be positive for the United States.”
• “Gallup finds 35% of Americans naming unemployment as the most important problem facing the U.S., a higher percentage than at any point since 1983.”

While there is not necessarily anything incorrect about those statements (though statistics are only as good as the quality of questions asked and the sample of people polled), the problem is often in the conclusions drawn from the statement.

Statistical findings like these are typically included as part of an argument for or against something.  For example, “most Americans believe the revolt in Egypt will result in a better future for the Middle East.”  Does that mean the situation in the Middle East will actually improve?  Not necessarily.

Popularity of an opinion does not make it correct.  The use of this persuasive technique is called an “Appeal to Popularity” and should be treated with caution.

Remember, at one point in history:

• most people believed owning slaves was appropriate
• most people believed the world was flat
• most people believed the sun revolved around the earth
• most people believed flying was impossible

So, the next time you’re in a meeting and hear someone say “the whole team thinks this is a great idea” replace that statement with “the whole team thinks 2+2=5.” This will remind you to question the conclusion and exclude popularity as a factor in the argument.

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Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.