Problem:
A misleading correlation example in the field of forensic psychology would be the association between a severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, and involvement with the criminal justice system. While there may be a correlation in some cases, one could not say with accuracy that every individual with schizophrenia is involved in criminal behavior. There are many factors that may explain the relationship between the two, such as substance abuse, little to no access to treatment, or socioeconomic disadvantages. On the other hand, a meaningful correlation could be about the correlation between scores on a risk assessment and rates of recidivism. Measures are designed to identify factors that are related to future offending and can assist forensic psychologists in making evidence-based evaluations. Cohen (1990) explains that researchers should be aware of the outcome of statistical significance, as it truly just shows that a relationship exists in the data and should not be fully applied to the real world based on just one calculation. Forensic psychologists should carefully evaluate the significance of the relationships they have measured rather than relying solely on statistical significance.
When thinking about the relationship between correlation and causation, it should be known that correlation relates to two related variables, whereas causation refers to one variable directly causing change in another variable. Anastasi and Urbina (1997) emphasize how important it is to understand methods in statistics as it can help researchers understand the data in psychological measurement in order to avoid conclusions about data that may not be true. In forensic psychology, confusing correlation with causation could lead to serious errors, such as assuming that a demographic characteristic causes criminal behavior when the relationship may actually be influenced by other social or environmental factors. For this reason, forensic psychologists should evaluate research thoroughly and consider multiple different explanations before drawing conclusions about behavior. Need Assignment Help?
Respond to at least two of your colleagues' postings in one or more of the following ways:
Ask a probing question.
Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
Offer and support an opinion.
Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.
References:
- Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological testing Download Psychological testing(7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
- Chapter 3, "Norms and the Meaning of Test Scores" (pp. 49-54)
- Credit line: Psychological testing, 7th edition by Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. Copyright 1997 by Prentice Hall. Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall via the Copyright Clearance Center. Licensed in 2023.
- Cohen, J. (1990). Things I have learned (so far).Links to an external site. American Psychologist, 45 (12), 1304-1312.