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THE PERCEPTION OF PEARSON PRODUCT MOMENT CORRELATIONS FROM BIVARIATE SCATTERPLOTS
Author(s) -
BOBKO PHILIP,
KARREN RONALD
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
personnel psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.076
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1744-6570
pISSN - 0031-5826
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1979.tb02137.x
Subject(s) - bivariate analysis , pearson product moment correlation coefficient , statistics , psychology , outlier , correlation , perception , range (aeronautics) , moment (physics) , regression , linear regression , mathematics , econometrics , engineering , physics , geometry , classical mechanics , neuroscience , aerospace engineering
Perceptions about the Pearson product moment correlation, r , from bivariate scatterplots were investigated through the use of a questionnaire. It was found that subjects who are relatively sophisticated in psychometric techniques tend to underestimate the magnitude of r , with most pronounced disparity in the range .2 < |r| < .6. Additionally, estimates of r from specially designed scatterplots indicated that subjects (1) correctly estimated the effects of range restriction, (2) underestimated the effects of attenuating outliers, (3) incorrectly reduced estimates of r when the regression slope was relatively high or low, and (4) often failed to consider the effects of removing the middle third of the data. Several implications of these generally conservative estimations are discussed.