ABSTRACT
The sign of r indicates the nature or direction of the linear relationship which exists between the two variables. A positive sign indicates a direct linear relationship, whereas a negative sign indicates an indirect (or inverse) linear relationship. A direct linear relationship is one in which a change on one variable is associated with a change on the other variable in the same direction (i.e., an increase on one variable is associated with an increase on the other variable, and a decrease on one variable is associated with a decrease on the other variable). When there is a direct relationship, subjects who have a high score on one variable will have a high score on the other variable, and subjects who have a low score on one variable will have a low score on the other variable. The closer a positive value of r is to + 1, the stronger the direct relationship between the two variables, whereas the closer a positive value of r is to 0, the weaker the direct relationship between the variables. Thus, when r is close to +l, most subjects who have a high score on one variable will have a comparably high score on the second variable, and most subjects who have a low score on one variable will have a comparably low score on the second variable. As the value of r approaches 0, the consistency of the genera1 pattern described by a positive correlation deteriorates, until finally, when r = 0 there will be no consistent pattern which allows one to predict at above chance a subject's score on one variable if one knows the subject's score on the other variable.
