In Van Houtte and Jarvis's (1995) study, pet owners had lower autonomy scores than matched non-owners, and lower scores meant greater autonomy. Families had chosen whether to own a pet before the study began.
Explain what this finding shows and why it does not show that owning a pet caused greater autonomy.
36 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Psychology 7.2 Studies, covering 7.2.1 Vohs and Schooler (2008) and 7.2.2 Van Houtte and Jarvis (1995). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.