A researcher reports a positive relationship between sugar consumption and activity level for a group of 8-year-old children.However,the researcher cannot be sure whether the extra sugar is causing the children to be more active or whether the extra activity is causing the children to eat more sugar.This is an example of
A)the third-variable problem.
B)the directionality problem.
C)the reversal problem.
D)the criterion problem.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The situation described here is an example of the directionality problem, which arises when it is unclear whether the independent variable causes the dependent variable or the dependent variable causes the independent variable. In this case, it is unclear whether sugar consumption causes increased activity or whether increased activity causes higher sugar consumption. The third-variable problem refers to the presence of an unmeasured variable that may be responsible for any observed relationship, while the criterion problem refers to issues related to how the dependent variable is measured. The reversal problem is not a commonly used term in research methodology.

A Researcher Reports a Positive Relationship Between Sugar Consumption and Activity