Glendale Community College Fallacies in Causation and Correlation Paper

This week we’re exploring causation and correlation

why is it a fallacy to confuse causation and correlation?

Provide a medical example of a statement that confuses causation with correlation. Do not just use medical words or position titles. Use examples that patients or providers may actually experience .

A substantive post is at least one to good-sized paragraphs.APA Thinks of them as a mini paper. You need to demonstrate your learning, encourage additional dialogue, and provide new insight. A short post without any additional contribution will not produce passing scores.

This week as we dive into causation and correlation you will be responding to a 2 part post. Please make sure as you write your initial response that you make sure you have addressed both the question and the example, that is ORIGINAL TO YOU. It is important to write about both to get your full credit for your initial post. You need to focus on making the connection between the content and real-life examples that you may face in the medical world. In your post, do not just use words like doctor or nurse. These words alone do not make it a medical example.

Here is an example of an appropriate example:

Causal Fallacy statement:

Weather/seasonal changes cause an increase in higher occurrences of the flu.

Correlation statement:

There is a correlation between the weather changing and the higher occurrences to the flu.

A common misconception is that the flu is caused by cold temperatures. However, the influenza virus is necessary to have the flu, and cold temperatures alone do not cause the flu virus to occur. However, cold temperatures can be a contributing factor.

The reason the flu increases in the winter is because we don’t typically have the same tendencies as we do in hotter weather.

For example:

1) During the winter, people spend more time indoors with the windows sealed, so they are more likely to breathe the same air as someone who has the flu and thus contract the virus

2) Days are shorter during the winter, and lack of sunlight often contributes to lower levels of vitamin D and melatonin, both of which require sunlight for their generation. This may compromise our immune system, which in turn may decrease our ability to fight the virus.

Now let’s get started and have an amazing discussion board conversation about C&C!

What I’m providing below is an example of another students work. I provided it so it can give you an idea of what to write about!

A fallacy is a statement or claim without any actual proof or evidence, Therefore It can be very easily misinterpreted into a causation or correlation. The book states ” The correlation does not prove causation, but it suggests a hypothesis” (Moore & Parker, 2020). I have recently encountered a causation and correlation experience at work when a patient comes in with a casual fallacy statement stating they went to dinner and ate the same dish of food they had before and experienced an allergic readtion. They have been eating the same dish plenty of times before without any problems and is now coming to a conclusion that they are allergic to shrimp. We tested patient and results came negative to shrimp and all other ingredients included in that same dish. Patient was also tested to environmental factors and results came back positive allergy to cats. Patient then states she remembers noticing a cat near her table. The cause was her allergic reaction and correlated it to the food she ate instead of other possible outcomes around her. Another example I have personally experienced with my son was when he became sick and had a high fever due to an ear infection. He was being treated with an antibiotic and later experienced a rash on his body. Because there has been high cases of allergic reactions to antibiotics I automatically assumed my son was allergic to the medication. When children have high fevers it is common for them to break out in a rash on their body. I then had to do a procedure where we gave my son a small dose of the medication and turned out he was not allergic. Since he broke out in a rash at the time i administered his medcation I carrelated them together instead of critically thinking of all possible outcomes or evidence to support my claim.

Refereces

Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. (2020). Critical thinking. In Critical thinking. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.