Vanessa Claims That She Sleeps Better When She Falls Asleep

question 17

Multiple Choice

Vanessa claims that she sleeps better when she falls asleep to music.She has a comparison group,because she has noticed that she does not listen to music every night,only when she remembers to plug in her iPod.She typically remembers her iPod on nights when she is able to finish studying earlier.What problem do you see in Vanessa's reasoning about sleeping better to music?

• A) Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner.
• B) Vanessa's belief that she sleeps better with music is not falsifiable.
• C) Vanessa is biased because she sleeps in the same bed every night.
• D) Vanessa cannot make the claim about sleeping better to music because she has not asked a psychologist.
• E) There is no problem with Vanessa's reasoning.

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Definitions:

Marginal Benefits

The increase in utility or satisfaction from consuming or producing an extra unit of a good or service.

Post Hoc

A logical fallacy that assumes that if one event occurs after another, then the first event must have caused the second.

Ergo Propter Hoc

Refers to the logical fallacy where it is assumed that because one thing follows another, the first thing caused the second.

Fallacy

An incorrect belief or mistaken reasoning often based on unsound argument.