Which of the following would be consistent with a spurious relationship between X and Y?
A) Pearson's r is .37, partial correlation coefficient is .36.
B) Pearson's r is .78, partial correlation coefficient is .30.
C) Pearson's r is -.10, partial correlation coefficient is -.15.
D) Pearson's r is .00, partial correlation coefficient is .00.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A spurious relationship is one where the correlation between X and Y is not real but rather due to a third variable, called the confounding variable. In this case, Pearson's r is relatively high (above .7), but the partial correlation coefficient is relatively low (below .4). This indicates that there is a strong correlation between X and Y, but once the influence of the confounding variable is taken into account, the correlation drops significantly. This is consistent with a spurious relationship. The other answer choices either do not have a strong enough correlation or have a partial correlation coefficient that is too close to the Pearson's r to be considered spurious.

Which of the Following Would Be Consistent with a Spurious