If two variables have a positive correlation, what does that mean?

If two variables have a positive correlation, what does that mean?

• A. As one variable increases, the other increases.
• B. As one variable increases, the other decreases.
• C. There is no relation.
• D. Both variables are constant.

Answer: (A)

Positive correlation means the two variables move in the same direction. When one variable goes up, the other tends to go up as well, so the pattern on a scatterplot would rise from left to right. It’s a description of a tendency, not a guarantee of cause and effect, and there can be a strong or a weak connection. The other ideas describe opposite movement (one up, the other down), no clear pattern, or no variation at all, which are not what positive correlation means.

Positive correlation means the two variables move in the same direction. When one variable goes up, the other tends to go up as well, so the pattern on a scatterplot would rise from left to right. It’s a description of a tendency, not a guarantee of cause and effect, and there can be a strong or a weak connection. The other ideas describe opposite movement (one up, the other down), no clear pattern, or no variation at all, which are not what positive correlation means.