<p>A much-cited reference on the statistical backgrounds is this one: </p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01621459.1954.10483515" rel="nofollow">Simon (1954), Spurious Correlation: A Causal Interpretation, <em>J Am Stat Assoc</em>; <strong>49</strong>(267)</a></li>
</ul>

<p>A more recent, open access but applied research paper on the topic is:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211013212" rel="nofollow">Parise <em>et al</em>. (2013), When Correlation Implies Causation in Multisensory Integration, <em>Curr Biol</em>; <strong>22</strong>(1): 46–9</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-01T14:53:53.207Z
2015-08-02T04:11:29.930Z
2015-08-02T04:11:29.930Z
AliceD
<p>It is well known and frquently quoted that "correlation does not imply causation".</p>

<p>Nonetheless, I've scoured the wikipedia article "Correlation does not imply causation" and the relevant keywords in google scholar, and could not find any research that clearly shows that people use correlation to infer causation. There are some examples from popular newspapers and mentions of "cum hoc ergo propter hoc" as a long known fallacy, but no empirical research.</p>

<p>Is there any research that shows that people have a "correlation implies causation" fallacy?</p>

<decision-making>
Research that shows that people infer causation from correlation
Michal Tenenberg
# Research that shows that people infer causation from correlation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-01)

It is well known and frquently quoted that "correlation does not imply causation".

Nonetheless, I've scoured the wikipedia article "Correlation does not imply causation" and the relevant keywords in google scholar, and could not find any research that clearly shows that people use correlation to infer causation. There are some examples from popular newspapers and mentions of "cum hoc ergo propter hoc" as a long known fallacy, but no empirical research.

Is there any research that shows that people have a "correlation implies causation" fallacy?

**Tags:** decision-making


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-08-01. Score: 4

A much-cited reference on the statistical backgrounds is this one:

* [Simon (1954), Spurious Correlation: A Causal Interpretation, *J Am Stat Assoc*; **49**(267)](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01621459.1954.10483515)

A more recent, open access but applied research paper on the topic is:

* [Parise *et al*. (2013), When Correlation Implies Causation in Multisensory Integration, *Curr Biol*; **22**(1): 46–9](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211013212)


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