Final answer:
The relationship between Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale scores and measures of physical illness would be described as a positive correlation, where higher stress is associated with an increased number of health symptoms. A positive correlation implies that variables change in the same direction, but it does not prove causation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term that best describes the relationship a researcher might find between participants' scores on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale and scores on a measure of physical illness is A) Positive correlation. A positive correlation means that as one variable increases, so does the other, which fits the idea that higher stress scores would be associated with an increased number of symptoms indicating health problems. However, it is important to note that correlation does not imply causation; therefore, a correlational study cannot conclusively establish that stress causes illness or vice versa.
Correlational research like the studies using the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale often report a correlation coefficient (r) to describe the strength and direction of the relationship between variables. Values of r closer to 1 indicate a stronger positive correlation, whereas values closer to -1 indicate a stronger negative correlation. When r is close to 0, this suggests a weak or no correlation between the variables.
For example, one may find a negative correlation (variables move in opposite directions) between the amount of sleep one gets and their level of tiredness during the day. In contrast, we would likely see no correlation between unrelated variables such as hours of sleep and shoe size.