Rival mechanisms

Write out two or more competing causal stories that would each explain the same pattern you observed. Spell out the actual chain in each one, and keep only the ones that would predict different results, since identical predictions give you nothing to test.

Write out two or more competing causal stories that would each explain the same pattern you observed. Spell out the actual chain in each one, and keep only the ones that would predict different results, since identical predictions give you nothing to test.

Example

For the teenager's dipping grades you write three: phone use cuts sleep, which drags mood and focus; social conflict at school drives both the scrolling and the moods; anxiety about a failing class comes first and the phone is the escape.