Essay

According to Cohen's guidelines for interpreting Pearson's rr, what are the specific correlation coefficient thresholds for small, medium, and large relationships, and how does the sign of the coefficient influence the interpretation of its strength?

Question: According to Cohen's guidelines for interpreting Pearson's rr, what are the specific correlation coefficient thresholds for small, medium, and large relationships, and how does the sign of the coefficient influence the interpretation of its strength?

Sample answer: Cohen's guidelines state that Pearson's rr values near ±0.10\pm 0.10 are considered small, values near ±0.30\pm 0.30 are considered medium, and values near ±0.50\pm 0.50 are considered large. The positive or negative sign of the coefficient only indicates the direction of the relationship and does not affect its strength; thus, an rr value of 0.30-0.30 is just as strong as a value of +0.30+0.30.

Key points:

  • Pearson's rr values near ±0.10\pm 0.10 represent small relationships.
  • Pearson's rr values near ±0.30\pm 0.30 represent medium relationships.
  • Pearson's rr values near ±0.50\pm 0.50 represent large relationships.
  • The sign of the coefficient (+ or -) indicates only the direction of the relationship.
  • The strength of the relationship is independent of its sign (e.g., 0.30-0.30 is as strong as +0.30+0.30).

Rubric: A complete answer must: 1) State that r±0.10r \approx \pm 0.10 represents a small relationship. 2) State that r±0.30r \approx \pm 0.30 represents a medium relationship. 3) State that r±0.50r \approx \pm 0.50 represents a large relationship. 4) Clarify that the sign indicates only the direction of the relationship and does not affect the strength.

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Updated 2026-05-26

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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