Page 58 - Essencials of Sociology

Gender in Sociological Research 31

TABLE 1.5 Cause, Effect, and Spurious Correlations

Causation means that a change in one variable is caused by Spouse Abuse
another variable. Three conditions are necessary for Male Culture
causation: correlation, temporal priority, and no spurious Alcohol Abuse
correlation. Let’s apply each of these conditions to spouse
abuse and alcohol abuse. But since only some men beat their wives, while all males
are exposed to male culture, other variables must also be
1 The first necessary condition is correlation involved. Perhaps specific subcultures that promote
violence and denigrate women lead to both spouse abuse
If two variables exist together, they are said to and alcohol abuse.
be correlated. If batterers get drunk, battering Spouse Abuse
and alcohol abuse are correlated.
Male Subculture
Spouse Abuse + Alcohol Abuse Alcohol Abuse
People sometimes assume that correlation is causation. If so, this does not mean that it is the only causal
In this instance, they conclude that alcohol abuse causes variable, for spouse abuse probably has many causes.
spouse abuse. Unlike the movement of amoebas or the action of heat
Alcohol Abuse Spouse Abuse on some object, human behavior is infinitely complicated.
Especially important are people’s definitions of the
But correlation never proves causation. Either variable situation, including their views of right and wrong. To
could be the cause of the other. Perhaps battering explain spouse abuse, then, we need to add such variables
upsets men and they then get drunk. as the ways that men view violence and their ideas about
the relative rights of women and men. It is precisely to
Spouse Abuse Alcohol Abuse
help unravel such complicating factors in human behavior
that we need the experiment method.
2 The second necessary condition is temporal priority.
MORE ON CORRELATIONS
Temporal priority means that one thing happens
before something else does. For a variable to be a Correlation simply means that two or more variables
cause (the independent variable), it must precede that are present together. The more often that these
which is changed (the dependent variable). variables are found together, the stronger their
relationship. To indicate their strength, sociologists
precedes
Alcohol Abuse Spouse Abuse use a number called a correlation coefficient. If two
variables are always related, that is, they are always
If the men had not drunk alcohol until after they beat present together, they have what is called a perfect
their wives, obviously alcohol abuse could not be the positive correlation. The number 1.0 represents this
cause of the spouse abuse. Although the necessity of correlation coefficient. Nature has some 1.0’s such as
temporal priority is obvious, in many studies this is not the lack of water and the death of trees. 1.0’s also
easy to determine. apply to the human physical state, such as the absence
of nutrients and the absence of life. But social life is
3 The third necessary condition is no spurious correlation. much more complicated than physical conditions, and
there are no 1.0’s in human behavior.
This is the necessary condition that really makes things Two variables can also have a perfect negative
difficult. Even if we identify the correlation of getting correlation. This means that when one variable is
drunk and spouse abuse and can determine temporal present, the other is always absent. The number –1.0
priority, we still don’t know that alcohol abuse is the represents this correlation coefficient.
cause. We could have a spurious correlation; that is, the Positive correlations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mean that
cause may be some underlying third variable. These are one variable is associated with another only 1 time
usually not easy to identify. Some sociologists think that out of 10, 2 times out of 10, and 3 times out of 10.
male culture is that underlying third variable. In other words, in most instances the first variable
Male Culture Spouse Abuse is not associated with the second, indicating a
weak relationship. A strong relationship may
Socialized into dominance, some men learn to view indicate causation, but not necessarily. Testing the
women as objects on which to take out their frustration. relationship between variables is the goal of some
In fact, this underlying third variable could be a cause sociological research.
of both spouse abuse and alcohol abuse.

Source: By the author.