Meaning of correlation coefficient

14 sec read

If variable X and Y has correlation 0.1, how much does it help to predict Y based on X? In the simplest binary case, the probability (p) to correctly predict Y based on X is a linear function of correlation (c), i.e.
$$p=\frac{c+1}{2}$$

That means, a 0.1 correlation will increase the prediction probability from 0.5 to 0.55, a 5% increase. This could be significant if you are betting a lot of money 🙂



写作助手,把中式英语变成专业英文


AI writing papers with real references


Want to receive new post notification? 有新文章通知我

第七十三期fNIRS Journal Club视频 梁正博士 赵庆柏课题组

Youtube: https://youtu.be/5r8OR9rmDxo 优酷:https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjU0ODIxNDEwNA==.html 创造性思维是
Wanling Zhu
20 sec read

第七十三期fNIRS Journal Club通知2026/7/11, 10am 赵庆柏教授

创造性思维是人类高级认知的重要体现,也是教育、创新与团队协作等领域关注的核心问题。近年来,功能性近红外光谱(fNIRS)凭借其良好的生态效度和多人同步测量优势,为创造性思维及其社会互动神经机制的研究提
Wanling Zhu
13 sec read

第七十二期fNIRS Journal Club视频 曹家铭博士

Youtube: https://youtu.be/9mY_m7C8Z8s 优酷:https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjU0MTE5NjMwNA==.html 随着近年来深
Wanling Zhu
16 sec read

One Reply to “Meaning of correlation coefficient”

  1. Hi Professor Xu, thank you for your two posts on the correlation coefficient. Regarding your formula on this page for (p) as a function of (c), I’m sorry, I don’t see why this is necessarily a linear function?

    I see that your function satisfies the boundary conditions for (c) = 0 & (c) = 1. However, looking at the distribution curve of the correlation coefficient (c) on your other page, I see that (c) is a highly non-linear curve. The linearity vs. non-linearity is confusing to me.

    If you have a moment, please, would you mind please re-explaining the relationship between (p) & (c) with reference to the distribution curve? If the curve is not relevant, however, would you mind please explaining why not?

    Thank you very much for your consideration,
    Brad

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *