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Which of the following values of r allows perfect prediction of the Y score from knowledge of the X score?

a. +2
b. -.5
c. 0
d. -1

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The correlation coefficient that allows perfect prediction of the Y score from the X score is r = -1, indicating perfect negative correlation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The value of r (correlation coefficient) tells us about the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables. For perfect prediction of one variable (Y score) from another (X score), we need a correlation coefficient that represents a perfect linear relationship. That would be when the value of r is exactly +1 or -1. The other options such as +2, which is beyond the possible range of r, or -0.5 which indicates a moderate negative linear relationship, or 0 which means no linear relationship at all, do not allow for perfect prediction. Thus, the correlation coefficient that allows perfect prediction is r = -1, which represents a perfect negative correlation, meaning that if one variable increases, the other variable decreases in a perfectly predictable manner.

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