Logical reasoning PrepTest 120 · Section 3 · Question 15

Incorrect. This answer connects the two behaviors. Kids who are excited by violent action programs are more likely to watch them, and they're also more likely to act out in school, thus explaining that connection.

Incorrect. This answer establishes causality between the two phenomena—watching violent TV with parents causes kids to think antisocial behavior is okay, and that results in them engaging in antisocial behavior, leading to discipline in schools. By explaining the causal relationship, this answer explains the correlation. Causality does explain a correlation.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Bizarro Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
A study measured the violent TV kids watched, and whether they were disciplined in school. It was found that the more violent the TV that kids watched is, the more frequently they were punished.

Answer Anticipation:
This Bizarro Paradox question asks us to explain a correlation. While correlation doesn't prove causation, things that are causally related should be correlated—otherwise, it's unlikely the causality is true, as the cause should show up more frequently with the effect. As such, we can explain the correlation here between watching violent TV and being disciplined in school by establishing some type of causal relationship between the two.

Answer Explanation:
This answer suggests that the children whose parents rated the TV shows as being less violent were actually watching TV that included violence—the parents just didn't rate it as such. This shows that there was no correlation between watching violent TV and acting out—the kids were possibly all watching violent TV, but only the group with the parents who rated the TV as more violent were acting out. This just raises more questions as to why that was the case, so it doesn't explain the statistical relationship and is therefore correct.

Key Takeaway:
Causality explains correlation, so when you're asked to explain a correlation/statistical relationship, look for answers that establish a causal relationship between the elements that are correlated. It doesn't matter which direction the causality flows in—any causal relationship will explain a statistical correlation.

Incorrect. This answer connects watching violent television to break the rules at school, thus resulting in discipline, explaining how violent TV and school discipline are statistically related. Watching violent television causes misbehavior.

Incorrect. If the kids who aren't watching violent TV have parents that are more involved with moderating their kids' behavior, then that explains why those kids would end up breaking rules and being punished less than the kids whose parents let them watch violent TV.