Description
I am having trouble remember what defines correlation (pertaining to psychology) and how it is measured. Can someone please explain in a way that will be easy to remember for a psych test. Thank you!
Explanation & Answer
Correlation means association - more precisely it is a measure of the extent to which two variables are related.
If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with an increase in the other then this is known as a positive correlation. An example would be height and weight. Taller people tend to be heavier.
If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with a decrease in the other then this is known as a negative correlation. An example would be height above sea level and temperature. As you climb the mountain (increase in height) it gets colder (decrease in temperature).
When there is no relationship between two variables this is known as a zero correlation. For example their is no relationship between the amount of tea drunk and level of intelligence.
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