Psychology
Correlational Studies
Correlational studies in psychology involve examining the relationship between two or more variables to determine if they are related and to what extent. These studies do not establish causation but provide valuable insights into the connections between different factors. By analyzing the strength and direction of correlations, researchers can gain a better understanding of the patterns and associations within psychological phenomena.
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11 Key excerpts on "Correlational Studies"
eBook - PDFAbnormal Psychology
The Science and Treatment of Psychological Disorders
- Ann M. Kring, Sheri L. Johnson(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
Quick Summary Case studies can provide detailed information about a novel phenomenon or treatment technique, and they can disprove a hypothesis. They do not provide good evidence for cause and effect, and they can be biased. Correlational Studies examine the strength of relation between variables, and they do not involve any variable being manipulated. Correlation does not imply causation. Longitudinal studies can help de- termine whether one variable precedes the other, but third variables (called confounds) could still explain any observed relationship. Correlation coefficients provide an estimate of the strength and direction of the relationship. A correlation coefficient of –1 or +1 indicates a perfect relationship, and a correlation coefficient of 0 indi- cates that there is no systematic relationship between two variables. A statistical finding is usually considered significant if the probability that it is a chance finding is 5 or less in 100. Statistical significance is influenced by the size of the sample. A clinically significant finding is one in which the relationship is large enough to matter. Epidemiology and behavior genetics are correlational approaches that are commonly used in psychopathology research. Epidemiology is the science of obtaining and testing representative samples drawn from the com- munity. Epidemiology is used to estimate the prevalence and incidence of disorders, and the correlates of those disorders. Behavior genetics involves the study of concordance among first degree relatives, MZ versus DZ twins, and adoptees as a way to estimate the heritability of disorders, and interactions between genetic and environmental contributions to disorders. The experimental method entails manipulating an independent variable and measuring the effect on a dependent variable.
eBook - PDF- Donald Ary, Lucy Jacobs, Christine Sorensen Irvine, David Walker(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
What recommendations might you make? RESEARCH IN THE PUBLIC EYE Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. CHAPTER 12 CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH 307 Summary Correlational research is nonexperimental research that studies the direction and strength of relationships among variables. It gathers data on two or more quantitative variables from the same group of subjects (or from two logically related groups) and then determines the correlation among the variables. Correlational procedures are widely used in educational and psychological research. They enable researchers to better understand certain phenomena and to make predic-tions. Correlational designs are often valuable for generating hypotheses that can be further investigated in experimental or ex post facto research. Correlations must be interpreted appropriately. When assessing a correlation coefficient, you must take into account the population from which the sample was drawn, the shape of the distribu-tion, the sample size, and its statistical and practical significance. The most serious error is to interpret correlation per se as an indicator of causation. Measures of correlation, however strong, do not establish causation. A number of different types of correlation coefficients are used with variables that are measured on different types of scales. Multiple regression is used to find the re-lationship between two or more independent variables and a dependent variable.
eBook - ePubLaboratory Psychology
A Beginner's Guide
- Julia Nunn(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Psychology Press(Publisher)
allocate a group of infants to a condition where they were deprived of their mothers. Of course an experimental design permits greater control over the influence of other variables but the advantages of active manipulation of variables carry with them a moral duty to act responsibly.SUMMARYCorrelational Studies allow analysis of behaviour that has been passively observed—rather than collected under experimentally rigorously controlled conditions.- Determining the cause of a correlation between variables requires special care. If two variables A and B are correlated then there are three possible causal interpretations:
- (i) A may be the cause of B;
- (ii) B may be the cause of A;
- (iii) Some other variable may cause A and B.
- Correlational Studies can be used to investigate behaviour occurring outside the laboratory which it might not be ethical or practically possible to observe under laboratory conditions.
Experimental and correlational approaches: A comparison
Whereas the experimenter is interested in the variation he creates by manipulating variables, the correlator is interested in the variation already existing between individuals and/or groups of individuals within or across cultures. The correlator’s aim is to understand the variance produced by nature. For the experimental psychologist individual differences in the subjects of the study are often seen as a problem rather than a focus of interest. A large amount of variation obtained between subjects within a treatment condition is seen as an indication that the experimenter has not controlled the experiment tightly enough. In experimental studies individual variation is termed “error variance” and is one source of variation that the experimenter will deliberately try to eliminate by matching subjects or using homogeneous subject groups.
No longer available |Learn more- Frederick J Gravetter; Lori-Ann B. Forzano; Tim Rakow, Frederick Gravetter, Frederick Gravetter, Lori-Ann Forzano, Tim Rakow(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
In addition, the correlational research design allows researchers an opportunity to investigate variables that would be impossible or unethical to manipulate. For example, a correlational study could investigate how specific behaviours or skills are related to diet deficiencies or Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. C H A P T E R 12 \ The Correlational Research Strategy 319 exposure to pollution. Although it is possible and ethical to record diet deficiencies and environmental pollution as they exist naturally, it would not be ethical to create these conditions in the laboratory. Countless other variables such as family size, personality, alcohol consumption, level of education, income and colour preferences can be interesting topics for behavioural research but cannot be manipu- lated and controlled in an experimental research study. However, these variables can be easily measured and described in correlational research. One of the primary advantages of a correlational study is that the researcher simply records what exists naturally. Because the researcher does not manipulate, control or otherwise interfere with the variables being examined or with the surrounding environment, there is good reason to expect that the measurements and the relationships accurately reflect the natural events being examined. In research terminology, Correlational Studies tend to have high external validity. In general, a correlational study can establish that a relationship exists, and it can provide a good description of the relationship.
- Aparna Raghvan(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Society Publishing(Publisher)
Causal, Comparative, and Correlational Approaches in ... 137 Experimental research is a type of research in which the primary equivalence amongst research participants is done by creating more than one group. After the creation of a group, manipulation of a provided experience for these groups is done and then the measurement of the influence of this manipulation. Each of the three research designs differs according to their pros and cons. More than focusing on the pros and cons, it is very important to understand what the difference in each of the research designs is. 6.2. CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH: SEEKING RELA-TIONSHIPS AMONG VARIABLES Correlational research is in contrast to the descriptive research. Descriptive research is designed in order to provide primarily the static illustrations or pictures. On the other hand, the correlational research comprises the measurement of two or more variables which are relevant to the research. Then, an assessment of the association or relationship that exists between these variables is done. For example, the variables of height and weight are methodically related or correlated for the simple reason that the taller people usually weigh more than shorter people. Similarly, the time dedicated to the study and the memory mistakes are also correlated. This is so because the more time a person dedicates to study a topic or a list of words, the fewer errors he or she will make.In the case when there are two variables present in the research design, one of the variables is known as the predictor variable. The other variable is known as the outcome variable. One method of arranging or organizing the data from a correlational study with two variables is by using a graph. A graph is used to illustrate the values of every measured variable. This illustration can be done with the help of a scatter plot. A scatter plot is a kind of visual or pictorial representation of the relationship that exists between the two variables.
eBook - PDFEssentials of Psychology
Concepts and Applications
- Jeffrey Nevid(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Results of surveys may be compromised by volunteer bias and other problems. Psychologists might survey thousands of individuals about the characteristics of the people they have chosen as mates. In the naturalistic observation method, researchers observe behavior in the field—that is, where it occurs naturally. Psychologists attempt not to interfere with behaviors they are observing. They may spend considerable time allowing their research participants to become accustomed to them before they begin their observations. Psychologists might observe from a distance how lovers walk together and how they look at each other. In the correlational method, researchers use statistical methods to reveal and describe positive and negative relationships (correlations) between variables. This method may suggest the presence of cause and effect, but it does not demonstrate it. The degree to which variables are statistically associated is expressed as a correlation coefficient, which varies from 21.00 to 11.00. Psychologists might study relationships between feelings of love, self-esteem, and sexual satisfaction. In the experimental method, psychologists manipulate one or more independent variables (make changes in the participants’ environments) and observe their effects on one or more dependent (measured) variables. Experiments are conducted to establish cause- and-effect relationships between independent and dependent variables. Participants in experimental groups receive an experimental treatment; those in control groups do not. All other conditions are held constant to ensure that the independent variable alone is the cause of the observed effects. Random assignment to groups helps ensure that groups do not differ in characteristics that might affect the outcome.
eBook - PDF- Douglas Bernstein, , , (Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Research Methods in Psychology 35 causing some to express aggressiveness, others to show fear, and still others to be joy-ful. As described in the chapter on human development, psychologists are exploring this possibility by examining correlations between children’s personality traits, qualities of different day-care programs, and reactions to day care (Belsky et al., 2007; Dupere, Leventhal, & Crosnoe, in press; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2006a; Pluess & Belsky, 2010). Throughout this book, you will see many more examples of how Correlational Studies help shed light on a wide range of topics in psychology (Rutter, 2007). Experiments: Exploring Cause and Effect The most direct way to test hypotheses and confirm cause-and-effect relationships be-tween variables is to apply some control over those variables (Falk & Heckman, 2009). This kind of research usually takes the form of an experiment. An experiment is a type of study where a researcher controls one variable and then observes the effect of that manip-ulation on another variable, while holding all other variables constant. Consider the experiment Francine Shapiro conducted to study the effects of EMDR. As illustrated in Figure 2.1, she first identified twenty-two people who were suffering the ill effects of traumas such as rape or war. These were her research participants. She then assigned each of the participants to be in one of two groups. Members of the first group received a single fifty-minute session of EMDR treatment. Members of the second group experiment A study in which the researcher directly controls one variable and then observes the effect of that manipulation on another variable, while holding all other variables constant.
eBook - PDFExperimental Design and Statistics for Psychology
A First Course
- Fabio Sani, John Todman(Authors)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
For instance, you might want to explore the pos-sibility that self-esteem and salary are correlated with one another, and that they are both correlated with ‘years of education’. Also, you might want to measure which one among several variables is the best predictor of a given criterion variable. In this case you need to measure all the variables you want to inves-tigate, and apply some advanced procedures (e.g., partial correlation, or multiple regression) that are beyond the scope of this book. (See the books by Howell and Allison in the ‘brief list of recommended books’.) SUMMARY OF CHAPTER • Sometimes researchers hypothesize that two variables are related (i.e., change together), without making claims about which variable influences which. These types of hypotheses are tested by means of ‘Correlational Studies’. • A relationship between two variables can be explored by means of either correlational analysis or regression analysis. • Correlational analysis is used to (i) describe the relationship between two variables in a visual and numerical fashion, and to (ii) test the statistical significance of the relationship. • To give a visual description of a relationship, researchers use the ‘scattergram’, which helps to form an idea of (i) the direction (whether it is positive or negative), (ii) the strength (magnitude) and (iii) the form (whether it is linear or non-linear), of the relationship under investigation. • The strength of a relationship can be expressed numerically by calculating a descriptive statistic called the ‘coefficient of correlation’ (or r ), whose value ranges from − 1 to + 1. This can be calculated in several ways. Normally, the ‘Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficient’ (or r ) is used when para-metric assumptions are met (usually when there is an interval scale), while the ‘Spearman rank order correlation’ ( r s or rho ) is used when parametric assumptions are not met (typically, when there is an ordinal scale).
eBook - PDF- Catherine A. Sanderson, Saba Safdar(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
Figure 2.2 shows the different types of correlations. In some cases, we don’t have to worry about the direction of the association between two variables because if one of the variables is fixed (cannot change), we can be certain that it was not caused by the other variable. For example, if we conduct a naturalistic observation study and find that men are more aggressive than women, we can be sure that the aggression did not lead to their gender (a fixed variable). Similarly, if the data regarding the two variables were collected at two different periods of time, we can be certain that the second variable could not have caused the first variable. For example, if we measure students’ attendance for a social psy- chology class in a given semester and then measure their academic performance in the course at the end of the semester, we might find that attendance is a good predictor of academic per- formance in the course, but not the other way around. However, even in cases where it is clear that one of the variables could not have caused the other, we still can’t be certain that the other variable causes the correlation between the two variables. There is still a possibility that a third variable caused them both, explaining the observed association between the two variables. For example, hair loss and coronary heart disease are positively correlated: people who are bald are more likely to have coronary heart disease. However, it would be inaccurate to say that balding causes coronary heart disease; rather, both balding and coronary heart disease are the result of getting older (the “third variable” in this example). Figure A shows a positive correlation (as student grades increase, positive professor evaluations increase), Figure B shows a negative cor- relation (as hostility increases, number of friends decreases), and Figure C shows no correlation (as physical attractiveness increases, number of colds doesn’t change).
eBook - PDFPrinciples of Research in Behavioral Science
Fourth Edition
- Bernard E. Whitley, Jr., Mary E. Kite(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Although distinguishing between the terms passive and correlational to describe this research strategy can be useful, we will follow standard practice and use the term correla- tional to refer to this research strategy. Advantages of the Correlational Strategy. The correlational strategy has advantages rel- ative to both the case study and the experiment. The case study, as noted, can detect a relationship between two variables within a particular case—for example, a relationship between coffee consumption and hostility for one person. The correlational strategy lets us determine if such a relationship holds up across a number of cases—for example, the rela- tionship between coffee consumption and hostility averaged across all the people working in an office. If the results of a case study and a correlational study are consistent, then we can conclude that the relationship observed in the single case could hold for people in general (although it might hold only for people in that office, as discussed in Chapter 8). If the results of the two studies are inconsistent, we might conclude that the relationship ob- served in the case study was unique to that individual. As already noted, the correlational strategy also allows for the statistical analysis of data, which the case study does not. Disadvantages of the Correlational Strategy. The correlational strategy shares the major disadvantage of the case study strategy—neither can determine causality. Although the correlational strategy can determine if a dependent variable covaries with an independent variable (as shown by the correlation coefficient), Correlational Studies are rarely conduct- ed in a way that would establish time precedence of the independent variable and cannot rule out all alternative explanations. Let’s examine these problems using the hypothesis that playing violent video games causes children to become aggressive.
eBook - PDF- James Kalat, , , (Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
We cannot conclude that class attendance caused better performance. Perhaps the highly motivated students who attend class regularly would have done well without good attendance. In gen-eral, correlation does not mean causation. 12. Perhaps people get sick from complications caused by taking too many pills. Or maybe the people who take many medicines are those who already had serious illnesses. Table 2.2 Comparison of Five Methods of Research Observational Studies Naturalistic Observation Description of behavior under natural conditions Case Study Detailed description of single individual; suitable for studying rare conditions Survey Study of attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors based on answers to questions Correlation Description of the relationship between two variables that the investigator measures but does not control. A correlation determines whether two variables are closely related but does not address questions of cause and effect Experiment Determination of the effect of a variable controlled by the investigator on some other variable that is measured. An experiment is the only method that demonstrates cause and effect Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. M O D U L E 2 . 2 CONDUCTING PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH / 41 healthier than heavy drinkers or nondrinkers. It’s clear that heavy drinking would be bad, but if you are a nondrinker, should you take up beer or wine? We cannot be sure.
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