Question

harrison conducted research and found a correlation between the time one spends listening to heavy metal music and the number of books one reads. the correlation coefficient between these two variables was -0.85. what does this correlation mean?

• the less a person listens to heavy metal music, the more books he or she reads.
• the more a person listens to heavy metal music, the more books he or she reads.
• as the age of the subject decreases, the number of books he or she reads decreases.
• the number of hours spent listening to heavy metal music has not effect on the number of books a person reads.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall Correlation Coefficient

A correlation coefficient \( r \) ranges from -1 to 1. A negative \( r \) (like -0.85 here) indicates a negative linear relationship: as one variable increases, the other tends to decrease.

Step2: Analyze Each Option

• Option 1: "The less a person listens to heavy metal music, the more books he or she reads." This matches a negative correlation (one variable decreases, the other increases).
• Option 2: "The more... the more..." is a positive correlation, but \( r = -0.85 \) is negative. Eliminate.
• Option 3: Talks about age, which isn't a variable in the study. Eliminate.
• Option 4: "No effect" would mean \( r \approx 0 \), but \( r = -0.85 \) is strong. Eliminate.

Answer:

A. The less a person listens to heavy metal music, the more books he or she reads.