“Association Fallacy”
Judged by the Company You Keep
What is the Association Fallacy?
Assuming the qualities or traits of a subject because of its associations.
Business Application
Generalizing a person based on their associations can cloud a person’s judgement of the facts.
Acknowledge and accept the common generalizations (good and bad) of the industry you represent or the position you hold. Anticipating someone’s perception of you based on your associations will allow you to demonstrate that, like everything, there is a variety of people within a general group. This should help you bring your conversation back to the facts.
Example
“You’re just another sales rep so you don’t care about helping me you just want to increase your commissions.“
“I know how consultants work. You just try to turn something small into something huge so that I lose focus and think I need you to succeed.”
Why This is a Fallacy
In this case, the prospective client has made a generalization about consultants or sales reps and is using that bias to assume negative intentions.
