A researcher reports a positive relationship between sugar consumption and activity level for a group of eight-year-old children. However, the researcher cannot be sure whether the extra sugar is causing the children to be more active or whether the extra activity is causing the children to eat more sugar. This is an example of the ____.
A) third-variable problem
B) directionality problem
C) reversal problem
D) criterion problem

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a situation where it is unclear which variable is causing the other, which is known as the directionality problem. The third-variable problem refers to a situation where there is a third variable that is influencing both variables being studied, the reversal problem refers to when the causality may go in either direction, and the criterion problem refers to issues with defining and measuring variables.

A Researcher Reports a Positive Relationship Between Sugar Consumption and Activity