Question 1

We can predict participants' scores on Variable A with perfect accuracy by knowing their scores on Variable B,and higher scores on Variable A are associated with lower scores on Variable B.What is the correlation coefficient for the correlation between Variables A and B?

Accepted Answer

The correlation coefficient is -1.00 because the relationship between the variables is perfectly negative.

Question 2

A correlation is:

Accepted Answer

A correlation is a statistical measure of the relationship between two variables. It indicates how closely two variables are related and the direction of that relationship (positive or negative). It does not investigate a single individual or measure behavioral change following a treatment. It also does not measure the difference between experimental and control-group outcomes.

Question 3

Dr.Hernandon believes that time spent playing video games is negatively associated with reading fluency.He asks parents to record the average number of hours their children spend playing video games each day.He compares these hours with scores on the Woodcock-Johnson reading test.His correlation coefficient confirms that the number of hours playing video games is strongly correlated with decreased reading fluency.Which correlation coefficient would fit his data?

Accepted Answer

The negative sign indicates an inverse relationship between the two variables (i.e. as the number of hours playing video games increases, reading fluency decreases). The absolute value of 0.89 indicates a strong correlation.

Question 4

Which of the following correlation coefficients is indicative of the strongest relationship between the two variables?

Accepted Answer

The correlation coefficient of -0.87 represents a very strong negative relationship between the two variables. The closer the correlation coefficient is to -1 or +1, the stronger the relationship between the variables. Therefore, choice C) is the best option.

Question 5

In her correlational study,Professor Niles discovered a relationship between gang members and violence.Professor Niles can safely conclude that:

Accepted Answer

Correlational studies can only establish a relationship between variables, not a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, Professor Niles can only conclude that there is a tendency for gang membership and violent behavior to occur together, but not that one causes the other.

Question 6

What does the positive or negative sign of a correlation coefficient indicate?

Accepted Answer

The positive or negative sign of a correlation coefficient indicates the direction of the relationship between two variables. A positive sign indicates a positive or direct relationship, meaning that as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable increases. A negative sign indicates a negative or inverse relationship, meaning that as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable decreases. Therefore, the correct answer is C.

Question 7

A consistent,linear relationship between two variables is called a(n):

Accepted Answer

A consistent, linear relationship between two variables is referred to as a correlation. Option A, inference, refers to drawing conclusions or making judgments based on evidence or reasoning. Option B, prediction, is the act of forecasting what might happen in the future based on past observations or data. Option D, standard deviation, is a measure of the spread of a dataset.

Question 8

What does the size of a correlation coefficient indicate?

Accepted Answer

The size of a correlation coefficient indicates the strength of the relationship between two variables. A correlation coefficient of 0 indicates no relationship, while a correlation coefficient of -1 or 1 indicates a perfect relationship. The closer the correlation coefficient is to -1 or 1, the stronger the relationship between the variables. The size of the variables and the number of data points do not impact the size of the correlation coefficient. The direction of the relationship is indicated by the sign of the correlation coefficient (positive or negative).

Question 9

Which of the following best describes a correlational study?

Accepted Answer

A correlational study is research that examines the naturally occurring relationship between two or more variables. It seeks to determine whether and how strongly the variables are related. This type of study does not attempt to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between variables but rather examines the extent to which they co-vary.

Question 10

You want to determine the relationship between caffeine intake and performance on a mid-quarter exam.As students sit down to take the exam,you ask them to write the number of cups of tea,soda,or coffee they ingested two hours prior to the exam.You also obtain their exam scores.You calculate the correlation coefficient between the two variables to be +0.82.What can you conclude?

Accepted Answer

The positive correlation coefficient of +0.82 indicates a strong positive relationship between caffeine intake and exam scores. Therefore, we can conclude that the more caffeine students consumed, the better their scores. Option B is incorrect because the correlation coefficient does not tell us anything about the percentage of students who consumed caffeine. Option C is incorrect because we cannot establish causation based on correlation alone. Option D is incorrect because the correlation coefficient is positive, indicating that as caffeine intake increases, the exam scores also increase.

Question 11

A researcher finds a strong positive correlation for academic success and reading speed.What can the researcher conclude?

Accepted Answer

The researcher can conclude that there is a strong positive correlation between academic success and reading speed, which means that the two tend to occur together. However, the research cannot determine if one causes the other. It is possible that academic success contributes to an individual's reading speed or that individuals who have strong reading skills tend to perform better academically.

Question 12

Anything that can be assigned a numerical value is a:

Accepted Answer

A variable is a characteristic or attribute that can take on different values, and those values can be assigned a numerical value. A sample refers to a subset of a population, a correlation is a measure of the relationship between two variables, and a dependent variable is a variable that is being measured or observed in an experiment. Therefore, C is the best choice as it directly relates to the definition of a numerical attribute.

Question 13

We can predict participants' scores on Variable A with perfect accuracy by knowing their scores on Variable B,and higher scores on Variable A are associated with higher scores on Variable B.What is the correlation coefficient for the correlation between Variables A and B?

Accepted Answer

A perfect positive correlation means that as one variable increases, the other variable increases proportionally. Therefore, the correlation coefficient for the correlation between Variables A and B is +1.00.

Question 14

Correlations are useful for:

Accepted Answer

Correlations are used to measure the strength of the relationship between two variables, not to explain causes of behavior, detail the behaviors of a small group of participants, or define the key variables in an experiment.

Question 15

If you find no relationship between two variables,what would your correlation coefficient be?

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient of 0.00 indicates no relationship between the two variables. Positive or negative values indicate a positive or negative relationship, respectively.

Question 16

Professor Jacobs believes that sleep deprivation is related to conflicts between roommates.He collects data on the number of hours of sleep and the number of roommate conflicts for a group of college students over the course of a month.He obtains a correlation coefficient of -0.75.What can he conclude?

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient of -0.75 indicates a strong negative correlation between hours of sleep and number of roommate conflicts. This means that as the number of hours of sleep decreases, there is an increase in the number of roommate conflicts. Therefore, choice C is the best answer.

Question 17

If Variable X is increasing at about the same rate as Variable Y is decreasing,what can you conclude?

Accepted Answer

When one variable increases as the other decreases, it indicates a negative correlation between the two variables, meaning as one goes up, the other goes down.

Question 18

How is the correlational method different from naturalistic observation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How is the correlational method different from...

Question 19

A researcher is interested in the relationship between early childhood sexual abuse and teenage chemical dependency.Since the researcher cannot ethically expose individuals to sexual abuse,which research strategy would be BEST?

Accepted Answer

Since it is unethical to expose individuals to sexual abuse, a correlational study would be the best option to investigate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and teenage chemical dependency. Correlational studies can examine the association between two variables without manipulating or exposing individuals to any conditions. A clinical case study and naturalistic observation would not allow for a large-scale investigation of this relationship, and a formal experiment would be unethical to conduct.

Question 20

Professor Vestal is interested in studying the potential relationship between adolescent marijuana smoking and academic performance.Which type of study would you suggest she use?

Accepted Answer

A correlational study would be the best choice as Professor Vestal wants to study the potential relationship between two variables, namely adolescent marijuana smoking and academic performance. In a correlational study, the researcher can assess the strength and direction of the relationship between the two variables, which in this case would help determine if there is a positive or negative correlation between marijuana use and academic performance. However, a correlational study cannot establish causality.

Quiz 2: Research Methods in Psychology