A new study casts doubt on the popular notion that exposure to sex in the media is linked to earlier sexual activity. "There is a common problem in social science research called the third variable problem," said Temple psychologist Laurence Steinberg, one of the study’s authors. "When looking at the relation between a given behavior and given experience, it could look like there is a correlation, when in fact the relationship is dependent on something else entirely." In order to address the "third variable problem," Steinberg re-analyzed existing data, controlling for "adolescents' propensity to be exposed to sexualized media." In Steinberg's more conservative analysis, the relationship between media exposure and early sexual activity disappeared.