Causal implicatures from correlational statements.
Correlation does not imply causation, but this does not necessarily stop people from drawing causal inferences from correlational statements. We show that people do in fact infer causality from statements of association, under minimal conditions. In Study 1, participants interpreted statements of th...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286067 |
| _version_ | 1797799850470801408 |
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| author | Samuel J Gershman Tomer D Ullman |
| author_facet | Samuel J Gershman Tomer D Ullman |
| author_sort | Samuel J Gershman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Correlation does not imply causation, but this does not necessarily stop people from drawing causal inferences from correlational statements. We show that people do in fact infer causality from statements of association, under minimal conditions. In Study 1, participants interpreted statements of the form "X is associated with Y" to imply that Y causes X. In Studies 2 and 3, participants interpreted statements of the form "X is associated with an increased risk of Y" to imply that X causes Y. Thus, even the most orthodox correlational language can give rise to causal inferences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:25:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-afe11ff4514946e4a3aea66913948292 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:25:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-afe11ff4514946e4a3aea669139482922023-06-20T05:31:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01185e028606710.1371/journal.pone.0286067Causal implicatures from correlational statements.Samuel J GershmanTomer D UllmanCorrelation does not imply causation, but this does not necessarily stop people from drawing causal inferences from correlational statements. We show that people do in fact infer causality from statements of association, under minimal conditions. In Study 1, participants interpreted statements of the form "X is associated with Y" to imply that Y causes X. In Studies 2 and 3, participants interpreted statements of the form "X is associated with an increased risk of Y" to imply that X causes Y. Thus, even the most orthodox correlational language can give rise to causal inferences.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286067 |
| spellingShingle | Samuel J Gershman Tomer D Ullman Causal implicatures from correlational statements. PLoS ONE |
| title | Causal implicatures from correlational statements. |
| title_full | Causal implicatures from correlational statements. |
| title_fullStr | Causal implicatures from correlational statements. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Causal implicatures from correlational statements. |
| title_short | Causal implicatures from correlational statements. |
| title_sort | causal implicatures from correlational statements |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286067 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samueljgershman causalimplicaturesfromcorrelationalstatements AT tomerdullman causalimplicaturesfromcorrelationalstatements |