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All 16 Flashcards — Correlational studies
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Question
What is a correlational study?
Answer
A method that measures the relationship between two variables without manipulating them.
Question
What is a positive correlation?
Answer
Both variables rise together (e.g. more study, higher grades).
Question
What is a negative correlation?
Answer
As one variable rises, the other falls (e.g. more screen time, less sleep).
Question
Why isn't correlation causation?
Answer
A third variable could drive both, or the causal arrow could run the other way.
Question
What is a third variable?
Answer
An unmeasured factor that drives both correlated variables (e.g. heat behind ice cream and drowning).
Question
One strength of correlational studies?
Answer
They can study variables that can't be manipulated (e.g. stress, trauma).
Question
One limitation of correlational studies?
Answer
They can't show cause and effect; open to third-variable and reverse-causation problems.
Question
How do correlations fit with experiments?
Answer
A correlation spots a pattern; an experiment can then test whether it's causal.
Question
Give an example of a third variable at work.
Answer
Ice-cream sales and drowning rise together because hot weather raises both.
Question
What is bidirectional ambiguity?
Answer
When the direction of cause and effect between two variables is unclear: A may affect B, or B may affect A.
Question
What is a correlation coefficient (r)?
Answer
A number from -1 to +1 giving the direction and strength of a relationship.
Question
What does a scatter graph of a strong positive correlation look like?
Answer
Dots tightly clustered along a line sloping upwards from left to right.
Question
What is a spurious correlation?
Answer
Two variables that are related by chance or through a third variable, not because one affects the other.
Question
How do correlational studies and experiments work together?
Answer
A correlation finds a pattern in real life. An experiment, where one is possible, tests whether it is causal.
Question
Which is stronger: r = -0.8 or r = +0.4?
Answer
r = -0.8. Strength is how close r is to 1 or -1; the sign only gives the direction.
Question
Why can a correlation not be stretched beyond its data?
Answer
It only describes the range that was measured. Outside that range the pattern may be different.
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Full study notes for Correlational studies
Topic 2.4 hub
Research methodology
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Psychology exam skills
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