Dr. White of the Quick Stop Counseling Clinic noticed that female clients with eating disorders who were counseled during the hours of 8 to 11:45 a.m. recovered much faster than those who were counseled from 1 to 5 p.m. She jumped to the false conclusion that the time of day of counseling caused a quicker recovery. Dr. Green was more cautious. He noticed that all the clinic staff used the same treatment, but the clinic's female counselors all worked at the clinic in the morning, and male counselors worked in the afternoon. He found that the faster recovery had nothing with the time of day; rather it was due to female clients responding to the treatment with female counselors. What is Dr. White's initial causal relationship called?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Dr. White's initial causal relationship is called a spurious statement because it incorrectly identifies the time of day as the cause of quicker recovery, overlooking the actual cause related to the gender of the counselors.

Dr White of the Quick Stop Counseling Clinic Noticed That