A researcher was interested in whether divorce and remarriage influence the extent to which children are sociable.At a nearby school,the researcher classified 5^th-graders into one of three groups: intact parents (no divorce),divorced (single-parent families),and remarried parents.The researcher interviewed the 5^th-graders and rated their sociability,and also asked them to complete a questionnaire that assessed their level of comfort in different social situations.
Suppose that the researcher finds that the 5^th graders in the divorce (single-parent)group are less sociable than are 5^th graders in the intact and remarried groups.The researcher concludes that divorce and living in a single-parent home causes children to be less sociable,and that remarriage causes improvements in sociability.Do you accept this researcher's conclusions? Why or why not?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is This researcher incorrectly made a causal inference about the effects of divorce and remarriage based on a natural groups design.Natural groups designs provide correlational data regarding the relationship between an individual differences variable and a dependent variable; therefore,causal inferences cannot be made.These three groups may differ on a number of other variables (e.g.,income,household stability,time since divorce)that may be related to children's sociability.These variables are potential alternative explanations for the observed group differences,rather than the three groups the researcher formed.

A Researcher Was Interested in Whether Divorce and Remarriage Influence