Question

Sales of pornography and the presence of churches in the area appear to be correlated. It may be the case that neither causes the other. Perhaps a separate factor, such as population density, accounts best for both aggression and ice cream sales. This illustrates a problem in assessing causality that is specific to correlational research, and is called __________________________.

I have no idea what kind of answer the question is asking for. May someone please help?

Answer 1

<<The counter-assumption, that "correlation proves causation," is considered a <b>questionable cause logical fallacy</b> in that two events occurring together are taken to have a cause-and-effect relationship. This fallacy is also known as <b>cum hoc ergo propter hoc</b>, Latin for "with this, therefore because of this," and "false cause." A similar fallacy, that an event that follows another was necessarily a consequence of the first event, is sometimes described as post hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin for "after this, therefore because of this.").>> From Wikipedia.

Answer 2

The answer is in your text. Review the section of the chapter that discusses cause and effect. This may elaborate on the concept:

http://explorable.com/cause-and-effect

But, remember, the terminology in this article may vary from what your text materials use.