An observer of street corner groups finds that more acts of vandalism are committed by same-sex groups than by mixed-sex groups. She speculates that the propensity to commit publicly deviant acts is a product of competition for recognition among peers of equal status. This is an example of
A) prediction without explanation.
B) deductive reasoning.
C) inductive reasoning.
D) hypothesis testing.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The observer is using specific observations (more vandalism by same-sex groups) to form a general theory (competition for recognition among peers of equal status leads to deviant acts), which is an example of inductive reasoning.

An Observer of Street Corner Groups Finds That More Acts