Question

Which correlation coefficient indicates the strongest relationship between two variables: r = -0.82, r = 0.45, or r = 0.78?

Answer 1

r = -0.82 indicates the strongest relationship, because strength is judged by the absolute value of r (|−0.82| = 0.82 > |0.78| = 0.78 > |0.45| = 0.45). The negative sign means it’s a strong negative (inverse) relationship.