All courses Math I · S-ID.9 59 of 59
Distinguish correlation from causation.

Classify a statistical claim as correlational or causal

Problem
Is this claim correlational or causal? Students who sleep more tend to have higher scores.
Your answer
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Hint

Look for whether the claim says one variable is merely linked to another or directly causes it.

Words like "tend to" or "associated with" usually describe correlation, not causation.

Solution walkthrough

01

Identify the variables and wording

\[\text{sleep}~\text{amount}~\text{and}~\text{score}~\text{are}~\text{linked}~\text{by}~\text{the}~\text{phrase}~\text{tend}~\text{to}\]

The claim describes how two variables occur together.

02

Test for causal language

\[\text{no}~\text{statement}~\text{that}~\text{more}~\text{sleep}~\text{produces}~\text{or}~\text{causes}~\text{higher}~\text{scores}\]

No intervention or cause-and-effect verb appears.

03

Classify the claim

\[\text{association}~\text{without}~a~\text{cause}~\text{claim}=\text{correlational}\]

The wording supports a tendency, not causation.

04

State the classification

\[\text{correlational}\]

The claim is correlational.

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Another way

  1. Search for an explicit causal verb; none appears.

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Common mistake

Do not turn 'tend to' into 'causes'; co-occurrence alone is correlational.