Question

People with long hair do better on an audio memory test is this a causation or correlation, pleas help

Answer 1

It sure sounds like correlation to me. How can long hair cause a person to do well on an audio memory test??

Answer 2

Thank you

Answer 3

Correlation means that two variables vary together. It may or may not indicate causation. So, where you have causation, there is typically also correlation. However, a correlation does not necessarily mean causation, or it can be caused by a factor outside the noted factors.

For example, suppose someone gets intoxicated by drinking bourbon on the rocks (over ice). Trying Scotch on the rocks, intoxication also results. Vodka on the rocks also leads to intoxication. Do you think that getting rid of the ice will reduce intoxication?

In the tropics, more people faint when the asphalt becomes softer, giving you a correlation. Does soft asphalt cause fainting? Maybe people hitting the asphalt when they faint softens it it. However, in this case, <I>heat</I>, increases fainting from heat prostration and also softens the asphalt.

I hope this helps you to distinguish these concepts in the future. Would that be correlation or causation — or <I>both</I>? Note this source for either-or questions:

http://www.members.cox.net/dagershaw/lol/DecisionTrap.html

Thanks for asking.