Final answer:
In experimental terms, the thunder has temporal precedence to Rudy's hiding behavior, as it occurs first and appears to cause the reaction. Temporal precedence is necessary to establish causation, but researchers must consider and rule out lurking variables to be certain.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Part notices that her dog, Rudy, hides under her desk because of the thunder, this is an example of a behavior that can be explained using principles of learning and conditioning. In experimental terms, the thunder is considered to have temporal precedence to the hiding behavior, as it occurs before Rudy starts to hide and seems to be the direct cause of the hiding.
The concept of temporal precedence is crucial in establishing a cause-and-effect relationship. It means that the cause (thunder) occurs before the effect (Rudy hiding), which is necessary for proving causation. However, it is important to rule out any third-variable correlations or other explanations before definitively stating that one event caused the other.
To understand causation fully, researchers might consider other factors or lurking variables that could be influencing Rudy's behavior. For instance, he might have heard something else or have a different reason for hiding that just happened to coincide with the thunder.