A researcher observes that, on average, the number of divorces in cities with Major League Baseball teams is larger than in cities without Major League Baseball teams. The most plausible explanation for this observed association is that the?

Answer: The association is due to confounding (major league teams tend to be in large cities with more people, hence a greater number of divorces.)

Explanation: In research statistics there's a concept called confounding which is essentialy a variable that influences both indepent and dependent variables.

In this particular case, what really influences that prevalence of divorce is not the fact whether there are major league teams in a city or not, but the fact that major league teams tend to be in larger cities with more people, therefore the number of divorces is higher.

Association due to confounding

Explanation:

Confounding in statistics refers to mixing of concepts or establishing an association between the dependent variable and independent variable that is incorrect mathematically. In this confounding is occurring because the Major League Baseball teams are based in big cities and have higher population than cities without Major League Baseball teams. Hence, the number of divorces are higher in cities with Major League Baseball teams due to the higher population or residents. So there is no association between divorces and Major League Baseball teams and the association the researcher observed is due to confounding error.