Deck 6: Correlational Methods and Statistics

Question 1

A correlation coefficient of 0.00 is to _____ as a correlation coefficient of -1.00 is to _____.​

A)no relationship; weak relationship
B)no relationship; perfect relationship
C)weak relationship; no relationship
D)perfect relationship; no relationship

Answer 1

no relationship; perfect relationship

Question 2

General State University recently decided to discontinue its use of the GRE as an admissions tool for its graduate programs because they observed no correlation between GRE scores and subsequent GPAs. Ninety percent of the grades awarded in the graduate programs at General State University are A's. What General State has failed to consider in this situation is the issue of​

A)curvilinear relationships.​
B)causality.
C)the third-variable problem.
D)restrictive range.

Answer 2

restrictive range.

Question 3

The problem of a correlation between two variables being dependent on another variable is called _____.​

A)the third-variable problem
B)causality
C)directionality
D)restrictive range

Answer 3

the third-variable problem

Question 4

When there is a _____ relationship, as scores on X increase, scores on Y also increase.​

A)positive
B)negative
C)curvilinear
D)zero

Question 5

If the points on a scatterplot are spread all over the graph, this would suggest that the two variables depicted are

A)normally distributed.
B)positively correlated.
C)strongly related.
D)not correlated.

Question 6

The problem of _____ can often be identified by using a _____.​

A)causality; point-biserial correlation
B)directionality; phi coefficient
C)third variables; partial correlation
D)restrictive range; point-biserial correlation

Question 7

Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the variables with the weakest degree of relationship?​

A)+0.99
B)‑1.00
C)+0.01
D)‑0.59

Question 8

Two variables increasing and decreasing together is to _____ as two variables moving in opposite directions is to _____.​

A)no relationship; curvilinear relationship
B)curvilinear relationship; negative relationship
C)positive relationship; negative relationship
D)negative relationship; positive relationship

Question 9

Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the variables with the strongest degree of relationship?​

A)+0.99
B)‑1.00
C)+0.01
D)‑0.59

Question 10

A correlation coefficient of _____ indicates that the variables form a perfect linear relationship.​

A)+1.00
B)‑1.00
C)0.00
D)both +1.00 and -1.00

Question 11

In the case of a negative relationship, as scores on X _____, scores on Y _____.

A)increase; decrease
B)increase; increase
C)decrease; decrease
D)none of the other alternatives is correct

Question 12

Jim thought that the strong negative correlation that he observed between depression and self-esteem meant that having a low self-esteem led to high levels of depression. Jim is misinterpreting the correlation by assuming​

A)causality.
B)directionality.
C)that there is a third variable.
D)both causality and directionality.

Question 13

Per the text, we would expect the correlation between smoking and lung cancer to be _____ whereas we would expect the correlation between mountain elevation and temperature to be _____.

A)curvilinear; negative
B)positive; negative
C)negative; positive
D)positive; curvilinear

Question 14

A correlation coefficient of +1.00 is to _____ as a correlation coefficient of -1.00 is to _____.​

A)perfect relationship; perfect relationship
B)perfect relationship; no relationship
C)straight linear relationship; curvilinear relationship
D)curvilinear relationship; straight linear relationship

Question 15

An indication of the strength of the relationship between two variables is the _____.​

A)slope
B)sign
C)scatterplot
D)magnitude

Question 16

A variable that is truncated and has limited variability is said to have _____.

A)directionality
B)a third variable
C)causality
D)a restricted range

Question 17

In the case of a positive relationship, as scores on X _____, scores on Y _____.​

A)increase; decrease​
B)decrease; increase
C)decrease; decrease
D)none of the other alternatives is correct

Question 18

The _____ indicates the magnitude of a correlation coefficient.

A)slope
B)sign
C)absolute value
D)none of the alternative is correct

Question 19

When there is a _____ relationship, as scores on X increase, scores on Y decrease.

A)positive
B)negative
C)curvilinear
D)zero

Question 20

If the points on a scatterplot are clustered in a pattern that extends from the lower left to the upper right, this would suggest that the two variables depicted are​

A)normally distributed.
B)positively correlated.
C)regressing toward the average.
D)negatively correlated.

Question 21

In a recent study it was found that the correlation between self-esteem and depression was ‑0.64. Explain what this means. Calculate the coefficient of determination for this correlation and explain what information this provides.​

Question 22

Pam is interested is assessing the degree of relationship between gender and test grades in her psychology class. Pam should use the _____ correlation coefficient to assess this.

A)partial
B)point-biserial
C)phi
D)Pearson product-moment

Question 23

Explain when each of the correlation coefficients listed below should be used.​

Question 24

Two nominal variables are to _____ coefficient as two ordinal variables are to _____ coefficient.​

A)Pearson product-moment correlation; Spearman rank-order correlation
B)Spearman rank-order correlation; Pearson product-moment correlation
C)phi; Spearman rank-order correlation
D)point-biserial correlation; Spearman rank-order correlation

Question 25

What is the third-variable problem and how does the partial correlation technique help with this problem?

Question 26

What is a person-who argument?​

Question 27

Two interval/ratio variables are to _____ coefficient as one interval/ratio variable and one nominal variable are to _____ coefficient.​

A)Pearson product-moment correlation; Spearman rank-order correlation
B)Spearman rank-order correlation; Pearson product-moment correlation
C)phi; Spearman rank-order correlation
D)Pearson product-moment correlation; point-biserial correlation

Question 28

The _____ is a measure of the proportion of variance in one of the variables that is accounted for by the other variable.​

A)Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient
B)coefficient of determination
C)point-biserial correlation coefficient
D)Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient

Question 29

In a recent study it was found that the correlation between self-esteem and depression was ‑0.64. Tom interprets this to mean that low levels of self-esteem lead to high levels of depression and vice versa. How is Tom misinterpreting these data?

Question 30

Calculate the Pearson product-moment correlation for the data below.​

Question 31

Explain when each of the correlation coefficients listed below should be used.

Question 32

Explain how curvilinear relationships can be a problem when interpreting correlation coefficients.​

Question 33

_____ is a procedure which allows us to predict an individual's score on one variable based on knowing one or more other variables.

A)Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient
B)Coefficient of determination
C)Regression analyses
D)Point-biserial correlation coefficient

Question 34

If a correlation coefficient that you expected to be fairly high, turns out to be very low, you should investigate whether there is a

A)restrictive range on one or both variables.
B)curvilinear relationship between the variables.
C)third variable inhibiting the relationship.
D)restrictive range on one or both variables and a curvilinear relationship between the variables.

Question 35

If both variables are measured on a nominal scale, what type of correlation coefficient is appropriate?​

A)Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient
B)phi coefficient
C)point-biserial correlation coefficient
D)none, because correlations cannot be computed on nominal data

Question 36

Imagine that you assessed the relationship between the variables of nutrition and general health. Draw the scatterplot depicting what this relationship would look like.​

Question 37

Assume that the regression equation for the relationship between SAT scores and IQ scores is y=9 + 0.105x. What would you expect the IQ score to be for the following individuals given their SAT scores?​

Question 38

Suppose that the correlation between height and weight for adults is +0.75. What proportion (or percent) of the variability in weight is accounted for by the relationship with height?​

A)75%
B)25%
C)56%
D)unable to determine