Association fallacy facts for kids

An Venn diagram showing the association fallacy. Although A is within B and is also within C, not all of B is within C.

An association fallacy is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone says that a quality of one thing must applies to another just because they share a similar quality or belief. It can be used in a positive or negative way.

It follows the general outline, A is a B, A is also a C, therefore, all Bs are Cs.

An example of an association fallacy being used in positive way (called pro hominem, or honour by association) is as follows:

• Citizens of Country X won more Nobel Prizes, gold medals, and literary awards than citizens of Country Y. Therefore, a citizen of Country X is superior to a citizen of Country Y.

An example of an association fallacy being used in a negative way (called guilt by association) is as follows:

• John is a shoplifter. John has black hair. Therefore, all people with black hair are shoplifters.

See also

In Spanish: Falacia de asociación para niños