Premium
A note on the attenuation of correlation
Author(s) -
Bedrick Edward J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
british journal of mathematical and statistical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.157
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 2044-8317
pISSN - 0007-1102
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8317.1995.tb01064.x
Subject(s) - attenuation , correction for attenuation , correlation , statistics , mathematics , econometrics , latent variable , distribution (mathematics) , variable (mathematics) , correlation coefficient , statistical physics , mathematical analysis , physics , optics , geometry
We study the attenuation of a correlation coefficient when one of the underlying measurement variables is categorized. We show that the attenuation depends critically on the distribution of the underlying latent variable, and on the scores assigned to the categories. Practical implications of these results are discussed.