correlational fallacy

the fallacy that association implies causation: the practice of drawing conclusions about cause and effect based solely on observations of a relationship between variables. For example, assume a researcher found that dieters tend to weigh more than other people. If the investigator were to conclude that the diet is responsible for the additional weight, then he or she has committed a correlational fallacy.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

psychonomic

adj. denoting an approach to psychology that emphasizes quantitative measurement, experimental control, and operational definitions, especially in the area of experimental, laboratory psychology. The word was coined to provide a name for the Psychonomic Society, which was created in 1959 by a number of experimental psychologists who were opposed to what they regarded as a swing in the American Psychological Association toward an emphasis on the mental health concerns of psychology. See experimental psychology.