Okun
PSY 230
STUDY GUIDE #8
Pearson Correlation Coefficient
I. Pearson Correlation Coefficient
1. What is the difference between the experimental and correlational approaches to
research?
2. What question is addressed with correlational research with continuous variables?
“Is there a relationship between the relative standing of individuals on one variable (low,
medium, or high) and their relative standing (low, medium, or high) on a second
variable?”
Person # of hours slept Mood
(X) (Y)
______________________________________________________________
Aaron 9 10
Brooke 8 7
Carole 5 4
Donald 3 2
Elvis 1 1
_______________________________________________________________
3. When is the correlational approach useful?
4. What is a bivariate distribution? How can a bivariate distribution be plotted on a graph?
A bivariate distribution involves pairs of scores from each individual in the sample or
population.
A scatter plot is a graph that represents the pair of observations for each person. Each pair of
observations for an individual is represented by a dot placed at the intersection of the X score
and the Y score. Thus, a scatter plot is a graph of a bivariate distribution.
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