After reading chapter 4 I think the Social Error that affects me the most is the third
one which is,” Group Pressure and Conformity.” I do believe that who you surround
yourself with is who you are influenced by, and at times it’s not always a good thing.
In the world we are living in now many of us are influenced by our surroundings and
social media platformsI. I for one have experienced group pressure and conformity
multiple times, mostly due to social media and fear of being the odd one out. I think
one way I can overcome this social error/bias is by analyzing myself and having
confidence in not only myself but my values and opinions first.
One fallacy I tend to come across often in advertisements is the fallacy of amphiboly.
I am a big fan of online shopping, but I also like to save money so I am always
looking for online boutiques that have sales. A fallacy I come across with many
online stores is the “$10 off your first purchase” sign that is advertised in HUGE
letters on the webpage, but when you start shopping and want to check out, the
catch is that you must sign up for their credit card or you only get the discount if you
spend “x” amount. Critical thinking skills have helped me alot when I come across
many fallacies that many companies use to market themselves,I have learned to not
trust these advertisements until I have read the fine print and I have had time to
analyze the information before I waste my time. Using logic and reasoning is also a
skill in critical thinking that has helped me avoid such fallacies when I shop online,
typically I research the legitimacy of online companies and their customer reviews
before purchasing items. I really enjoyed the information on the different forms of
fallacies in chapter 5. With everything going on in the world right now and staying at
home everyday I feel the fear, and stress of what is happening can make someone
more gullible and susceptible to these types of fallacies and it was interesting to see
the different ways they are used.
