> On Mon, 7 Aug 2006, I went: > > > The study is on-line at > > <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/118/2/e430> > > and I think it's available to all. > > > > It carries the standard disclaimer buried in the Discussion, to wit: > > > > "Our results suggest that the relationship between exposure and > > behavior may be causal in nature... however, our correlational data > > do not allow us to make causal inferences with certainty. "
And David Epstein goes: > > I noticed that, and then I noticed that the text string "causa" (as in > "causal" or "causation") appears nowhere else in the paper. True, they're somewhat subtle about it, but they do find other ways of implying the c-word, including: "These findings contribute to the emerging body of evidence of the role of a variety of media in the sexual socialization of youth" and "These lyrics are likely to promote acceptance of women as sexual objects and men as pursuers of sexual conquest." and most significantly: "Reducing the amount of degrading sexual content in popular music, or reducing young people's exposure to music with this type of content, could delay initiation of intercourse and related activities". This suggestion, which is also featured in their abstract, requires acceptance of the conclusion that listening to degrading lyrics causes adoolescents to have more sex. That is, if taking away their degrading music can reduce teen-age bonking, then a priori, the bonking must have been caused by the music in the first place. Bottom line: There are more ways of saying "causal" than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 0C8 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
