Hasty Generalizations

A hasty generalization is when someone draws a conclusion about a group, trend, or idea based on a small or unrepresentative sample.

Basically, it’s jumping to conclusions based on too little and too weak of evidence (such as personal anecdotes or experience).

You can also think of this in terms of the colloquial English phrase “painting with a broad brush.”

Hasty generalizations can be both easy and difficult to spot, depending on the context. Importantly, if the generalization tends to match our existing beliefs, our cognitive bias means we’ll more readily accept it.

Here are some things to look for that may indicate you’re dealing with a hasty generalization:

• Absolutist Language
  • Are words like “everyone,” “nobody,” “always,” “never,” “all,” etc. being used?
• Stereotypes
  • Does the argument rely on existing stereotypes about a group?
• Personal Anecdotes
  • Are the only examples being provided from personal experience?

When Generalizations Are Okay

There are times when generalizations are relatively accurate and can be used. Take, for example, the claim “smoking causes cancer.” We largely accept this as an obvious truth now, because it is generally true. But let’s look at a couple key points that set this claim apart from a hasty generalization:

• There is an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence to support the claim
  • There are hundreds of studies and replications done over several decades that support the idea that there is a causal link between smoking and developing cancer.¹
• The claim is understood to not be literal, instead meaning “smoking significantly increases your chances of developing cancer”
  • If you were to ask most scientists or doctors “does smoking guarantee you’ll develop cancer?” they would tell you no. The claim isn’t seeking to assert something is absolute, only that its likelihood is high enough that it poses a significant risk.

A generalization is usually considered hasty when it lacks sufficient evidence and seeks to be absolute.

Hasty generalizations can have a profoundly negative effect both on a personal level and a broader societal level.

On a personal level, they can lead to bad decision-making. If, for instance, you let one bad experience with a dentist prevent you from ever going to a dentist again, your teeth are likely to suffer as a result.

On a societal level, they can fuel stereotypes and prejudice. They flatten the variation that’s usually seen in most groups into something monolithic, either by asserting that everyone in the group is entirely negative or entirely positive. This type of oversimplification makes misinformation using this fallacy spread quickly and easily.

Ultimately, hasty generalizations undermine critical thinking. When we jump to a conclusion, we’re inherently not doing the work of reasoning.