Question

What is the difference between correlation and association?

Answer 1

Hint: Correlation can be defined as the analysis which explores the association between the two or more variables and makes inferences about the strength of the relationship.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Correlation is used in classical statistics. Correlation can be defined as the strength of the linear relationship of two variables. Therefore, it measures in cases if we increase or decrease one variable by the certain factor and the other variable will also increase by that same factor or the factor which is close. The correlation is the measure of the strength of this dependency and it can be negative or positive.
In case, if the correlation is positive that means that one variable will increase and it increases the other variable this is correlated. Negative correlation can be defined as the fluctuation in the opposite directions. If one variable increases the other will decrease and vice – versa.
Example: Correlation between cigarettes and lung cancer.

Association is rarely used in science but used in psychology. In simple words, association can be defined to explain a lot of different things and frequently used to describe the group of people with the common cause and is also used to express any sort of connection between the two similar or dissimilar things.
Example: Person Working in XYZ organization

Note: It is the common practice to use the terms correlation and the association interchangeably. Technically, association states any relationship between the two variables. The terms may be used interchangeably in most statistics.