A social scientist wants to use subjects' number of hours of television watched to predict their score on a test of propensity to violence. Subjects who watch more television do tend to get higher scores on the test. But regressing their violence test score on their hours of television watch explained only 16 percent of the total score. What is the correlation between their hours of television watched and violence test scores?
A) 0.16
B) -0.16
C) 0.40
D) -0.40
E) 0.32

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The question is asking for the correlation between hours of television watched and violence test scores. The fact that regressing violence test scores on hours of television watch explains only 16 percent of the total score indicates a weak relationship, but not necessarily a negative one. Therefore, we can rule out answer choices B and D, which suggest a negative correlation. The answer must be a positive correlation, as mentioned in the question stem. Since 16 percent of the variance is explained by the regression, the correlation coefficient (r) can be calculated by taking the square root of 16 percent, which equals 0.4. Therefore, the correct answer is C) 0.40.

A Social Scientist Wants to Use Subjects' Number of Hours