Professor Karney administered a psychological test measuring shyness to a large number of undergraduate students. The students also completed a lengthy questionnaire on their social life and activities, including number of friends. Professor Karney conducted a statistical analysis of the responses and found a correlation coefficient of -.80 between level of shyness and number of friends. This indicates that:
A) as number of friends increases, level of shyness increases.
B) as number of friends decreases, level of shyness increases.
C) there is no relationship between level of shyness and number of friends.
D) a cause-and-effect relationship exists between shyness and number of friends.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The negative correlation coefficient (-.80) indicates that as the number of friends decreases, the level of shyness increases. However, it does not imply causation, meaning that shyness may not necessarily be causing a decrease in number of friends or vice versa.

Professor Karney Administered a Psychological Test Measuring Shyness to a Large