Question

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children. You are curious as to whether peer pressure is really to blame (peer pressure encourages you to watch television and peer pressure encourages you to be aggressive). You are questioning which of the following criteria of causation?

A) the criterion of covarianceB) the criterion of temporal precedenceC) the third-variable criterionD) the criterion of external validity

Answer 1

C) the third-variable criterion

Step-by-step explanation:

Here, the two variables which are studied are the exposure of the children to TV and the aggression in the child. The independent variable is the exposure of the children to TV and the dependent variable is the aggression in the child.

However, you are wondering whether another variable i.e., peer pressure is influencing the two factors. When another variable is influencing two variables it is called the third variable. Hence, I am questioning the the third-variable criterion.