Deck 12: The Correlational Research Strategy.

Question 1

Which example illustrates a positive correlation?

A)​Salary level increases as educational level decreases.
B)​Salary level decreases as educational level decreases.
C)Educational level decreases as salary level increases.
D)​Educational level stays the same as salary level increases.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A Pearson correlation of r = -0.25 indicates that a graph of the data would show points ____.

A)​clustered close to a line that slopes up to the right
B)​clustered close to a line that slopes down to the right
C)widely scattered around a line that slopes up to the right
D)​widely scattered around a line that slopes down to the right

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A researcher determines the amount of sleep for each child by interviewing the children's parents.Then the researcher watches the children in the classroom to obtain measurements of their level of attention.The researcher hopes to demonstrate that amount of sleep is related to attention level.This researcher is using a ____ research strategy.

A)​descriptive
B)​correlational
C)experimental
D)​scientific

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A positive value for a correlation indicates ____.

A)​increases in X tend to be accompanied by increases in Y
B)​increases in X tend to be accompanied by decreases in Y
C)a much stronger relationship than if the correlation were negative
D)​a much weaker relationship than if the correlation were negative

Question 5

The direction of a relationship between variables is indicated by the ____.

A)​sign of the correlation
B)​numerical value of the correlation
C)type of correlation (Pearson or Spearman)
D)​statistical significance of the correlation

Question 6

Which statement correctly identifies a similarity between a correlational study and the differential research design?

A)​Both demonstrate differences among groups between groups.
B)​Both use one of the two variables to create groups of participants.
C)Both involve two groups with one score for each participant.
D)​Both demonstrate the existence of a relationship between two variables.

Question 7

A researcher would like to examine the relationship between self-esteem and academic performance for high school students.This researcher could use a correlational study or a(n)____.

A)differential study comparing academic performance scores for a group of high self-esteem students and a group of low self-esteem students.
B)experimental study comparing academic performance scores for a group of high self-esteem students and a group of low self-esteem students.
C)descriptive study examining self-esteem for a group of students who are in the top 25% of their high school class.
D)case study of a student with extremely low self-esteem but outstanding academic performance

Question 8

In correlational studies,the consistency of a relationship is typically measured and described by the numerical value obtained for a ____.

A)​mean
B)​t test
C)correlational coefficient
D)​standard deviation

Question 9

Which pair of variables should produce a correlation near zero?

A)​model year (2003, 2004, etc.) and price for a used Honda
B)​driving distance from college and weekly cost of gas for commuters
C)number of hours studying and number of errors on a math exam
D)​IQ and weight for a group of third-grade students

Question 10

A negative value for a correlation indicates ____.

A)​a much stronger relationship than if the correlation were positive
B)​a much weaker relationship than if the correlation were positive
C)increases in X tend to be accompanied by increases in Y
D)​increases in X tend to be accompanied by decreases in Y

Question 11

A defining characteristic of the correlational study is that the ____.

A)​research is conducted in field settings rather than in a laboratory
B)​intent is simply to describe behaviors
C)intent is to demonstrate the relationship between variables
D)​research uses virtual reality rather than "real life"

Question 12

A researcher watches children on a playground to obtain measurements of their level of activity.Then the researcher watches the children's caregivers on the playground to obtain measurements of their level of verbal reprimanding of children.The researcher hopes to demonstrate that the caregivers verbal reprimanding is related to children's activity level.This researcher is using a ____ research strategy.

A)​descriptive
B)​correlational
C)experimental
D)​scientific

Question 13

The results from a research study indicate that adolescents who watch more sexual content on television also tend to engage in more sexual behavior that their peers.The correlation between amount of TV sexual content and amount of sexual behavior is an example of a ____.

A)​positive correlation
B)​negative correlation
C)correlation near zero
D)​correlation near one

Question 14

A college professor reports that students who finish exams early tend to get better grades than students who hold on to exams until the last possible moment.The correlation between exam score and amount of time spent on the exam is an example of a ____.

A)​positive correlation
B)​negative correlation
C)correlation near zero
D)​correlation near one

Question 15

The goal of the correlational research strategy is to ____.

A)​describe mean differences between groups
B)​describe mean differences over time
C)examine and describe the relationship between variables
D)​describe an individual nonhuman subject in great detail

Question 16

Which pair of variables should produce a negative relationship?

A)​square footage of a house and price of a house​
B)​number of years of schooling and annual income
C)age of child and verbal skill level
D)​speed of running and time to complete a race

Question 17

In a correlational study,commonly,____.

A)​one variable is measured
B)​two variables are measured
C)one individual is described in great detail
D)​one individual is treated

Question 18

A researcher reports that there is no consistent relationship between grade point average and the number of hours spent studying for college students.The correlation between grade point average and the number of hours studying is an example of a ____.

A)​positive correlation
B)​negative correlation
C)correlation near zero
D)​correlation near one

Question 19

In a scatter plot,each ____.

A)​individual is represented by a single point
B)​group mean is represented by a single point
C)individual is represented by two data points
D)​group mean is represented by two data points

Question 20

What is most characteristic of a correlational study?

A)​manipulation of an independent variable
B)​control of variables
C)separation of participants into groups based on a specific individual characteristic
D)​a focus on evaluating whether a relationship exists between variables

Question 21

To establish the concurrent validity of a measure,of academic motivation a researcher examines the ____.​

A)​relationship between the scores from two administrations of the measure
B)​relationship between the measure and another measure
C)mean difference between the scores from two administrations of the measure
D)​mean difference between the measure and another measure.

Question 22

A Pearson correlation of r = +0.25 indicates that a graph of the data would show points ____.

A)​clustered close to a line that slopes up to the right
B)​clustered close to a line that slopes down to the right
C)widely scattered around a line that slopes up to the right
D)​widely scattered around a line that slopes down to the right

Question 23

What is indicated by a negative correlation between grade point average and the number of hours spent studying for a sample of college students?

A)​As the number of hours increases, grade point average also increases.
B)​As the number of hours increases, grade point average decreases.
C)As the number of hours decreases, grade point average also decreases.
D)​A negative correlation indicates that there is no consistent relationship.

Question 24

A Pearson correlation of r = +0.9 indicates that a graph of the data would show points ____.
Widely scattered around a line that slopes down to the right

A)​clustered close to a line that slopes up to the right
B)​clustered close to a line that slopes down to the right
C)widely scattered around a line that slopes up to the right
D)​widely scattered around a line that slopes down to the right

Question 25

Which set of correlations correctly shows the highest to lowest degree of relationship?

A)​-0.91, +0.83, +0.10, -0.03
B)​-0.91, +0.83, -0.03, -0.10
C)+0.83, +0.10, -0.91, -0.03
D)​+0.83, +0.10, -0.03, -0.91

Question 26

The Pearson correlation measures the degree ____.
Of curvilinear relationship

A)​of relationship without regard to the form of the relationship
B)​to which the relationship is consistently one directional
C)of linear relationship
D)​of curvilinear relationship

Question 27

When students apply to graduate school,they usually are required to submit GRE scores along with their applications.College officials know that there is a good relationship between scores on the GRE and success in graduate school.In this situation,success in graduate school is best characterized as the ____ variable.

A)​predictor
B)​criterion
C)dependent
D)​independent

Question 28

Which research design is commonly used to help establish the reliability or validity of a measurement procedure?

A)​observational research design
B)​survey research design
C)case study design
D)​correlational design

Question 29

The coefficient of determination is ____.

A)​computed by taking the square root of the correlation coefficient
B)​computed by squaring the correlation coefficient
C)identical to the correlation coefficient
D)​independent of the value of the correlation coefficient

Question 30

A researcher reports a positive relationship between sugar consumption and activity level for a group of eight-year-old children.However,the researcher cannot be sure whether the extra sugar is causing the children to be more active or whether the extra activity is causing the children to eat more sugar.This is an example of the ____.

A)​third-variable problem
B)​directionality problem
C)reversal problem
D)​criterion problem

Question 31

A scatter plot shows a set of data points that are clustered close to a line that slopes down to the right.Which value would be closest to the correlation for these data?

A)​0.80
B)​0.40
C)-0.40
D)​-0.80

Question 32

The Spearman correlation measures the degree ____,

A)​to which the relationship is causal
B)​of linear relationship
C)of curvilinear relationship
D)​of monotonic relationship

Question 33

If there is a consistent relationship between two variables such that Y tends to decrease each time X decreases,but not a linear relationship,then which correlation is designed to measure the consistency of the relationship?

A)​a partial correlation
B)​a Spearman correlation
C)a point-biserial correlation
D)​a phi-coefficient

Question 34

The results from a correlational study show a positive relationship between aggressive behavior for six-year-old children and the amount of violence they watch on television.Based on this relationship,which of the following conclusions is justified?

A)​Decreasing the amount of violence that the children see on TV will reduce their aggressive behavior.
B)​Increasing the amount of violence that the children see on TV will increase their       aggressive behavior.
C)Children who watch more TV violence tend to exhibit more aggressive behavior.
D)​Children who are prone to being aggressive have a preference for violent TV programs.

Question 35

Dr.Jones hopes to demonstrate that children who eat a more nutritious breakfast also tend to have more academic success than their peers.If this result is obtained,then ____ would be the predictor variable and ____ would be the criterion variable for the study.

A)​the nutrition in the breakfast; the level of success
B)​the level of success; the nutrition in the breakfast
C)those who eat a high nutrition breakfast; those who eat a low nutrition breakfast
D)​the children; the level of success

Question 36

To establish the test-retest reliability of a measure of academic motivation,a researcher examines the ____.

A)​relationship between the scores from two administrations of the measure
B)​relationship between the measure and another measure
C)mean difference between the scores from two administrations of the measure
D)​mean difference between the measure and another measure

Question 37

The correlational research strategy is often used for ____.

A)​manipulating a variable of interest
B)​establishing cause and effect relationships
C)preliminary research in an area
D)​describing a variable

Question 38

Which correlation is appropriate for measuring the relationship between gender (male/female)and performance on a task (success/failure)?

A)​the Pearson correlation
B)​the Spearman correlation
C)the point-biserial correlation
D)​the phi-coefficient

Question 39

A statistically significant correlation means that ____.

A)​the correlation is large
B)​the correlation is small
C)the variables are unlikely to be related
D)​there is a real relationship between the variables

Question 40

A researcher conducts a survey examining eating and sleeping behavior as well as academic performance for a group of elementary school children.The results of the survey indicate that the children who eat a more nutritious breakfast tend to have better grades than the children who have a breakfast low in nutrition.However,the research suspects that the children's parents may be responsible for this relationship.Specifically,the better-educated parents probably encourage their children to eat better food and work harder in school compared to parents with less education.If the researcher is correct,this is an example of the ____.

A)​third-variable problem
B)​directionality problem
C)reversal problem
D)​criterion problem

Question 41

Correlations are often used to help demonstrate the reliability and validity of measurement.

Question 42

A researcher knows that there is a relationship between obesity and watching television for young children.However,it is not known whether children watch more TV because they are overweight,or whether they are overweight because they watch so much TV.This is an example of the third-variable problem.

Question 43

The Pearson correlation measures the degree to which the X and Y data points fit on a straight line.

Question 44

A Pearson correlation of r = -1.00 means that all the data points fit perfectly on a straight line.

Question 45

The electric company uses the correlation between summer temperatures and energy consumption to anticipate energy demands.In this example,temperature is the criterion variable.

Question 46

A researcher knows that there is a relationship between obesity and watching television for young children.However,it is not known whether children watch more TV because they are overweight,or whether they are overweight because they watch so much TV.This is an example of the directionality problem.

Question 47

Both correlational studies and differential research examine the relationship between two variables.

Question 48

Suppose there is a correlation of +0.87 between the length of time a person is in prison and the amount of aggression the person displays on a psychological inventory.This means that spending a longer amount of time in prison causes people to become more aggressive.

Question 49

A researcher obtained a correlation of r = +0.62 between the amount of time spent watching television and level of blood cholesterol.This means that there is a general tendency for people who watch more television also to have higher blood cholesterol.

Question 50

With a very large sample,even a very small correlation can be statistically significant,

Question 51

If decreases in the X variable are accompanied by decreases in the Y variable,then the correlation between X and Y is negative.

Question 52

A correlation of r = -0.90 means that there is essentially no consistent relationship between X and Y.

Question 53

The coefficient of determination is computed by taking the square root of the correlation coefficient.

Question 54

For a positive correlation,decreases in X tend to be accompanied by decreases in Y.

Question 55

Suppose it was observed that there is a correlation of r = -0.81 between a driver's age and the cost of the car insurance.This correlation would mean that,in general,older people pay more for car insurance.

Question 56

The goal of the correlational research strategy is demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.

Question 57

Because there is a strong positive correlation between depression and risk of divorce,we can conclude that depression causes divorce.

Question 58

It is possible for a sample to have a real,non-zero correlation,even though the correlation for the general population is zero.

Question 59

A statistically significant correlation means that the correlation is large and strong.

Question 60

When the data for a correlational study consists of one or more scores that are not numerical values,the relationship between the variables cannot be evaluated.

Question 61

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the correlational research strategy.
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the cor

Question 62

Describe the use of a scatter plot in graphing data from a correlational study.

Question 63

Explain how the purpose of the correlational research strategy differs from the experimental research strategy.

Question 64

Describe the third-variable problem and the directionality problem in correlational research.Explain how these problems make it impossible to obtain an unambiguous cause-and-effect conclusion from a correlational study.

Question 65

Describe what is meant by a "negative relationship between two variables."

Question 66

Describe the differences between a correlational study and differential research.

Question 67

Describe how correlational studies can be used.