Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Relation refers to the connection or association between two or more things. In psychology, relation often refers to how different factors or variables are connected or related to each other.
Correlation refers to a statistical measure indicating the extent to which two variables fluctuate together. It shows whether there is a relationship between variables and the direction (positive or negative) and strength of that relationship.
Causation: Causation refers to a cause-and-effect relationship between two events or variables. It implies that one variable directly influences or causes changes in another variable.
Association refers to a statistical relationship between two variables, but it does not necessarily imply causation. It means that changes in one variable are consistently linked with changes in another variable, but it does not determine if one variable causes the change in the other.