Robert had just purchased a Volkswagen Beetle,and when he went to the insurance company was told he would have to pay higher premiums because it was red in colour.When asked to explain,the insurance agent said the company had accident history data that demonstrated red cars were involved in three times as many accidents.Robert analyzed the data and found that the red cars were predominantly high-speed sports cars.When he pointed this out,the insurance company readdressed its pricing policy.What did Robert discover?
A) a causal relationship
B) a spurious relationship
C) an a priori relationship
D) a nonspurious relationship

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Robert discovered a spurious relationship, as the data suggesting that red cars were involved in more accidents did not consider the fact that red cars were predominantly high-speed sports cars, which are more likely to be driven aggressively and therefore more likely to be involved in accidents. Once this confounding variable was taken into account, the relationship between car color and accident frequency was no longer significant.

Robert Had Just Purchased a Volkswagen Beetle,and When He Went