Single cause
Also called: Oversimplified cause
Blaming one factor for something that has several causes.
How to spot it
Is a complicated outcome being explained by one thing?
Example
“The company failed because of its logo.”
How to answer it
Ask what else contributed, and how much each factor mattered.
Related
- Post hoc: Assuming that because one thing followed another, the first caused the second.
- Correlation is not causation: Assuming that two things which move together must have a cause-and-effect link.