Dr. Less collected data showing that depressed people were less interested in interacting with non-depressed people. She concluded that their depression had caused them to withdraw from people. However, later research showed that depressed people had not interacted with non-depressed people even before they became depressed. Dr. Less failed to consider ___________ problems.
A)falsifiability
B)directionality
C)third-variable
D)internal validity

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The issue here is that Dr. Less may have attribute causation (depression causing people to withdraw) when in reality it was the opposite direction (withdrawal causing depression). This is a directionality problem. Option A (falsifiability) is not applicable as the study is not being questioned for its ability to be tested. Option C (third-variable) and D (internal validity) do not address the specific issue at hand.

Dr Less Collected Data Showing That Depressed People Were Less