01:830:101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Caffeine, Crop Yield, Scatter Plot

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: 01:830:101
• Professor: Sarah Carton

Document Summary

Helps us separate the scientific facts and dependable info from misleading results. Apply what is learned from research to improve lives. What is correlation? are used to look at the relationships between naturally occurring things or variables. What can the results tell us? can tell us whether two or more variables are related and in what direction example: there"s a positive relationship between academic performance and the amount of time spent studying. The values of both variables move together in the same direction. Values of both variables decrease together: examples: practice and performance; study time and test scores; height and weight; education level and ses; precipitation and crop yield; calcium intake and bone density. As the value of one variable increases the other one decreases (or vice versa) Examples: a scientific survey of 10,00 employees showed that people who are satisfied with their jobs are more productive workers. A correlational cannot draw a cause and effect.