Reverse causation
Also called: Getting the arrow backwards
Assuming A causes B when B actually causes A.
How to spot it
Could the effect be the cause?
Example
“Happy people have more friends, so friends make you happy.” (Perhaps happy people find it easier to make friends.)
How to answer it
Ask which came first, and how you'd test the other direction.
Related
- Correlation is not causation: Assuming that two things which move together must have a cause-and-effect link.
- Post hoc: Assuming that because one thing followed another, the first caused the second.