Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rosnow, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Rosenthal, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rosnow, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Rosenthal, R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2002, pp. 59-66
© 2002 Society of Pediatric Psychology

Contrasts and Correlations in Theory Assessment

Ralph L. Rosnow, PhD1 and Robert Rosenthal, PhD2

1 Temple University, 2 University of California, Riverside

All correspondence should be sent to Ralph L. Rosnow, 177 Biddulph Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087-4506. E-mail: rosnow{at}temple.edu .

Objective: To describe a systematic quantitative approach to assessing the predictions made by competing theories using contrasts and correlational indices of effect sizes.

Methods: We illustrate the use of the contrast F and t to compare and combine predictions when the raw data are continuous scores, and z contrasts when working with frequencies in 2 x k tables of counts.

Results: The traditional effect size correlation indicates the magnitude of the effect on individual scores of participants' assignment to particular conditions. The contrast correlation obtained from the contrast F or t is, in some cases, the easiest way of estimating the effect size correlation in designs using more than two groups. The alerting correlation is another way of appraising the predictive power of a contrast and can be used to compute the contrast F from published results when all we have are condition means and the omnibus F from an overall analysis of variance. Omnibus Fs, those with more than 1 df in the numerator, are rarely useful in data analytic work since they address unfocused questions, yielding only vague answers.

Conclusions: Asking focused questions using contrasts increases the clarity of our questions and the clarity and statistical power of our answers.

Key words: correlation; contrast correlation; theory assessment; effect size.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Pers Soc Psychol BullHome page
A. L. Wichman, J. Lee Rodgers, and R. C. MacCallum
Birth Order Has No Effect on Intelligence: A Reply and Extension of Previous Findings
Pers Soc Psychol Bull, September 1, 2007; 33(9): 1195 - 1200.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 J Health PsycholHome page
B. Soetens, C. Braet, P. Dejonckheere, and A. Roets
'When Suppression Backfires': The Ironic Effects of Suppressing Eating-related Thoughts.
J Health Psychol, September 1, 2006; 11(5): 655 - 668.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.