Carlos, the President of a Fraternity on Campus, Randomly Sampled

question 39

Multiple Choice

Carlos, the president of a fraternity on campus, randomly sampled 500 students, asked them if they belonged to a fraternity or sorority, and asked them about their current GPA. He discovered that the GPAs of those people in fraternities and sororities are higher than those of people who are not involved in the Greek system. Gleefully, he presented his findings to the dean, saying that being involved in a fraternity or sorority leads to higher grades. What rule of research methods is Carlos breaking?

• A) Correlation does not equal causation.
• B) College students are not representative of the whole sample of people in the world.
• C) His sample size of 500 is too small to make such a generalization.
• D) Correlational data do not provide any practical information on a topic.

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Definitions:

Metacognitive Skill

These are skills related to an individual's ability to understand, control, and manipulate their own cognitive processes, such as planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning strategies.

Self-Testing

The practice of evaluating one's own understanding or knowledge, typically as a study method to enhance learning and memory retention.

Self-Monitoring

The process of observing and regulating one's own behavior in social situations to fit into the expected norms or to achieve personal goals.

Egocentrism

A cognitive characteristic where an individual has difficulty understanding or assuming any perspective other than their own, often observed in children during the Piagetian preoperational stage.