A researcher has observed that adults who are more optimistic tend to have a higher level of life satisfaction than adults who are less optimistic. However, the researcher suspects that the apparent relationship may be explained by the fact that some people have positive things happen in their lives, which causes them to be more optimistic and satisfied with their lives compared to people who have bad things happen in their lives and therefore have a more negative outlook on things. This is an example of the ____.
A) directionality problem
B) third-variable problem
C) extraneous variable problem
D) manipulation check problem

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a third-variable problem, where an unobserved variable (in this case, the occurrence of positive or negative events in people's lives) may be the actual cause of the observed relationship between optimism and life satisfaction, rather than one causing the other directly.

A Researcher Has Observed That Adults Who Are More Optimistic