A town committee learns that there is a strong negative correlation between the number of inches of daily rainfall and the number of children who use the neighbourhood playgrounds each day. If the committee were to conclude that high rainfall is caused by children not using the playgrounds, which type of problem would MOST likely be occurring?
A) third-variable
B) direction-of-correlation
C) direction-of-causation
D) insufficient-knowledge

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The committee is mistakenly concluding that high rainfall causes children not to use the playgrounds, when in fact it is the other way around - that is, children not using the playgrounds leads to high rainfall (due to the negative correlation observed). This is an example of mistaking the direction of causation.

A Town Committee Learns That There Is a Strong Negative