Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class. In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem. Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced. I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem. Could you predict one from the other?"
Why should Anton NOT interrogate the internal validity of the study?
A)because he is a student, not a researcher
B)because the author of the study already did
C)because the study's claim is an association claim
D)because he has not taken statistics yet

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Anton should not interrogate the internal validity of the study because the study's claim is an association claim, which does not require manipulation of variables or control groups as experimental designs do. The study simply found a correlation (association) between being bullied and having low self-esteem, and did not claim causation. Therefore, the internal validity of the study is not a major concern in this case, and is not necessary to question for evaluating the claim.

Anton and His Friends Are Discussing a Study He Read