What is the only type of research method that allows for causation to be determined?

When trying to establish a new area of knowledge in psychology, showing that the aspects of research are causally linked is the epitome of sound research. This means that one of the variables led to the other and advances the field of knowledge on the topic for further research.

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Causation in psychology: Definition

Psychologists apply the scientific method to carry out their research. The findings from research can be considered empirical if carried out properly.

Causation in psychology is understanding phenomena in terms of cause and effect and relating the two conclusively.

This means that the research should state:

• The cause - describes what happens
• The effect - explains what happens as a consequence of the cause.

The phrase ceteris paribus, meaning all other things being equal, relates to establishing a causal relationship in research. The independent variable must change/affect the dependent variable, ceteris paribus, to rule out extraneous variables.

Rules of causation in psychology

When carrying out research that tests causal relationships, there are four rules researchers have to consider:

Association

• To establish a causation relationship between two variables, they must be empirically tested
• To establish a causal relationship, there must be an association between the two variables

A researcher should find a significant pattern that indicates that as one variable increases, the other must also increase or decrease.

Time Order

The temporal order between the cause and effect must be sequential. This means that the researcher needs to observe the cause first and then see the effect. This allows the researcher to identify that the effect occurred as a result of the cause.

Imagine researching how sleep deprivation affects exam results. For a causal relationship to be established, you need to observe that exam results changed from before students were sleep-deprived and rule out other variables (lack of food and poor diet affecting concentration levels, for instance).

Nonspuriousness

Causal relationships should not be a result of external variables (confounding/ extraneous variables), as this may show that the effect may be explained by a variable that the researcher did not describe as the cause.

The research found that sleep deprivation affected students' exam results. However, when the study was replicated, this causal relationship was no longer found when the exam took place in the morning. This suggests that the time exam is taken may be the cause rather than sleep deprivation.

Chance

The researchers need to ensure that the research is reliable and valid and that the results did not happen by chance. This means that the results found have to be significant (this is usually done using statistical analysis tests).

Chance in psychology research is the probability that the results measured resulted from an error/pure chance.

Example of causation in psychology

There are research and theory examples of causation in psychology. These have been carried out/postulated to identify if a cause-and-effect can explain the phenomena. Experimental research is a research example of causation in psychology. In this type of research, the aim is to scientifically test causation relationships between variables

First, the researcher proposes a hypothesis. This describes the causation theory they expect to find. Then, the researcher empirically tests the hypothesis. This is done by observing what happens to a variable (dependent variable) when the other is manipulated (independent variable). Variables that are not supposed to be investigated may affect the dependent variable (confounding/extraneous variables need to be controlled). This is because they may contribute to explaining the effects of the dependent variable and reduce the validity of the results.

The independent variable is manipulated to see if changes in this affect the dependent variable. Therefore causation in experimental research hypothesises that:

• the independent variable is the cause
• the dependent variable is the effect

The social causation theory in psychology

A theory example of causation in psychology is the social causation theory.

The social causation theory in psychology proposes that mental health/disease results from social conditions and/or social interactions.

For instance, not having enough money to pay bills can be a reason for a mental breakdown.

The social causation theory has been applied to psychology and has found that people from lower socioeconomic classes are more likely to develop psychiatric disorders. This is evidence of a theory example of causation in psychology as the theory explains and describes:

the cause - lower socioeconomic class

• and the effect - higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders

Evaluation of causation in psychology research

Let's discuss the strengths and weaknesses of causation in psychology research. The strengths of investigating causation relationships in psychology are:

• Understanding causation in psychology is important because it allows psychologists to empirically understand how factors/ actions can affect behaviour. This can be applied to clinical psychology to help create interventions and to reduce risk factors.
• Allowing psychologists to empirically observe the relationship between two variables. The research findings are more likely to be reliable and valid.

Specific statistical tests have been created to help understand cause and effect relationships.

Because cause and effect can be measured using statistical analysis, the results are data-driven. The data-driven results allow the validity and reliability of the results to be tested.

Regression is a statistical test used to measure the effect a variable has on another.

The weaknesses of investigating causation relationships in psychology are:

• It is difficult to control all confounding/extraneous variables in research. This makes it difficult for researchers to identify with near certainty the cause of the effects observed and affects the validity of the results.
• The cause and effect relationship of a phenomenon may describe the association between two variables. However, it may not be useful in understanding the mediational processes that may cause the effect. This limits the research's utility.

For instance, the social causation theory in psychology describes lower socioeconomic class individuals as being at higher risk of developing psychiatric illnesses, but what aspect of socioeconomic class causes this connection? Is it living conditions, poor income status, or both that explain the risk best?

The difference between correlation and causation psychology

It is important to note that not all research can infer causation relationships between two variables. The difference between correlation and causation psychology is that causation research allows the researcher to identify that a change in a variable causes a change in another variable. Correlational research only allows the researcher to identify if there is a relationship between two variables.

The difference between correlation and causation psychology is that the researcher cannot establish if the results are due to chance or confounding/extraneous variables in correlational research. Therefore, correlational research cannot establish an actual cause and effect.

Causation - Key takeaways

• Causation is the understanding of phenomena in terms of cause and effect.
• The social causation theory psychology is an example of a causation theory.
• The strengths of investigating causation relationships in psychology are it allows the understanding of causation in psychology, which is important because it allows psychologists to empirically understand how factors/actions can affect behaviour.
• The weaknesses of investigating causation relationships in psychology are that it is difficult to control all confounding/extraneous variables in research.
• Correlational research only allows the researcher to identify if there is a relationship between two variables.

What research method is used to determine causation?

Which method determines causality?

Which method is best for determining cause