Chapter 10 Quiz: Appeals to Authority and False Expertise

Propaganda, Power, and Persuasion

Part A: Multiple Choice (1 point each)

1. Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments found that under standard baseline conditions, approximately what percentage of participants administered the maximum voltage to the "learner"?

a) 15 percent b) 35 percent c) 65 percent d) 85 percent

2. The 1954 "Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers" served which primary strategic function for the tobacco industry?

a) Acknowledging that cigarettes caused cancer and announcing a plan to make safer cigarettes b) Creating the appearance of responsible engagement with the scientific evidence while establishing doubt-manufacturing infrastructure c) Directly refuting the scientific findings linking tobacco to lung cancer d) Announcing the withdrawal of cigarette advertising directed at physicians

3. In Oreskes and Conway's research for Merchants of Doubt, which methodological approach was most central to establishing that the same scientists moved from tobacco defense to climate denial?

a) Surveys of the scientists' stated motivations b) Statistical analysis of publication patterns in scientific journals c) Archival research in internal tobacco industry documents released through litigation d) Interviews with public health officials who had monitored the campaigns

4. The FLICC taxonomy identifies which set of techniques used in science denial campaigns?

a) Fear, Lying, Identity, Conspiracy, Coercion b) False balance, Logical fallacies, Impossible expectations, Cherry-picking, Conspiracy theories c) Framing, Labeling, Isolation, Credentialing, Counter-argument d) Fabrication, Laundering, Institutional capture, Contrarianism, Controversy manufacture

5. Andrew Wakefield's 1998 Lancet paper claiming a link between MMR vaccine and autism was retracted primarily because:

a) The sample size was too small to draw any conclusions b) The paper's claims had been disproven by subsequent epidemiological studies c) Wakefield had been paid by a lawyer preparing a vaccine lawsuit and had manipulated patient data d) The Lancet's editorial board was pressured by pharmaceutical companies to retract it

6. In Milgram's experiments, which condition produced the greatest reduction in compliance rates?

a) Moving the experiment from Yale University to a private commercial location b) Having the experimenter leave the room and give instructions by telephone c) Requiring the teacher to physically force the learner's hand onto the shock plate d) Telling participants that the experimenter was a graduate student, not a professor

7. The "borrowed authority" form of false expertise is best described as:

a) Using fabricated credentials to establish expertise that was never earned b) Deploying genuine credentials in one domain to establish credibility in a different domain c) Funding research that produces favorable findings and attributing it to independent scholars d) Creating institutional affiliations with impressive names but limited actual research activity

8. Which of the following best describes the purpose of "lateral reading" in evaluating authority claims?

a) Reading a source's claims from side to side to avoid anchoring on the opening paragraph b) Comparing two sources on the same topic to identify differences in their claims c) Opening new tabs to read what independent sources say about a source rather than evaluating its content internally d) Reading a source against its own citations to identify cherry-picking

9. The Brown & Williamson "Doubt Is Our Product" memo (1969) is significant as a primary source because it:

a) Provides the first scientific evidence that cigarette smoke causes cancer b) Documents in the participants' own language the deliberate strategy of manufacturing controversy rather than disproving evidence c) Reveals the identities of scientists who were secretly paid to produce favorable research d) Establishes the connection between tobacco scientists and climate denial scientists

10. The "Oregon Petition" illustrates which FLICC technique most directly?

a) Logical fallacies b) Impossible expectations c) Cherry-picking d) False balance

Part B: Short Answer (5 points each)

11. Explain the difference between "compromised authority" and "manufactured authority" as used in this chapter. Give one example of each from the cases discussed.

12. Why does the "both sides" journalistic norm amplify the manufactured doubt strategy? In your answer, explain what the norm requires of journalists and how the doubt industry exploits that requirement.

13. The chapter describes the manufactured doubt strategy as a "template" that was transferred from tobacco to other industries. Identify two features of the template and explain why those features were transferable across different industries and different scientific questions.

14. Milgram's "agentic state" theory proposes that individuals feel reduced personal moral responsibility when operating within a legitimate authority structure. How does this theory help explain why funded scientists might genuinely believe they are performing a legitimate function even when their work serves to delay health-protective regulations?

Part C: Extended Response (15 points)

15. Ingrid Larsen opens the chapter by placing a 1946 tobacco advertisement and a contemporary health influencer post side by side, arguing that they use the "same technique."

Write an essay of 400–500 words that either supports or challenges this argument. Your essay should:

• Identify the specific authority technique at work in both examples
• Discuss at least two ways in which the mechanism of exploitation is similar across the two cases
• Discuss at least one significant way in which the two cases differ (in terms of regulatory environment, verification difficulty, audience, or institutional infrastructure)
• Reach a conclusion about whether Ingrid's "same technique" characterization is accurate, partially accurate, or an oversimplification

Answer key for Parts A and B available in Appendix B: Answers to Selected Exercises.