Sitting in the Park One Sunny Day, Chaim Notices That

Multiple Choice

Sitting in the park one sunny day, Chaim notices that people who are walking dogs smile at him more often than people without dogs. Chaim concludes that people who own dogs are happier than those who do not own dogs. Based on the principles of psychological research, what is the biggest problem with Chaim's conclusion?

A) Just because someone is walking a dog doesn't mean the person owns that dog.
B) Chaim did not observe people with cats before coming to his conclusion.
C) Correlation does not prove causation; the association may be spurious.
D) Chaim did not operationalize dog.