Logical Errors

Logical Fallacies

Faulty Arguments

Cause and Effect

False Correlation

False correlation involves connecting two disparate events or situations together and implying that some underlying process causes them both or that one causes the other. Henry Ford is quoted as saying, "If you will study the history of almost any criminal, you will find he is an inveterate cigarette smoker." A study of declining scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) given to high school students concluded ". . . it is perhaps most significant of all that during the past ten years, the curve of the SAT scores has followed very closely the curve of the entire nation's spirits and self-esteem and sense of purpose." In this case, the panel claimed a correlation between a very concrete fact and an extremely abstract concept. Although one might agree with the sense of the statement, it falls apart as a logical proposition because of the unproven and very abstract connection between the two ideas.

Parent Topics:

Map of Logical Errors