This section of the assignment is designed to cultivate skillsrelated to interpreting meaning from quantitative data. As part ofa larger study, Speed and Gangestad (1997) collected ratings andnominations on a number of characteristics for 66 fraternity menfrom their fellow fraternity members. The following paragraph istaken from their results section:
. . . men's romantic popularity significantly correlated withseveral characteristics: best dressed (r = .48), most physicallyattractive (r = .47), most outgoing (r = .47), most self- confident(r = .44), best trendsetters (r =.38), funniest (r = .37), mostsatisfied (r = .32), and most independent (r =.28). Unexpectedly,however, men's potential for financial success did notsignificantly correlate with romantic popularity (r = .10). (p.931)
Explain these results as if you were writing to a person who hadnever had a course in statistics. Specifically:
a) Explain what is meant by correlation coefficientusing one of the correlations above as an example.
b) Provide your thoughts on the meaning of the patternof results. (You could speculate on the meaning of the pattern ofresults, taking into account the issue of direct causality. Youcould also indicate what kinds of conclusions could NOT bedrawn).
