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Meaning & use

positive association

noun·Academictechnical

Last updated

UK/ˌpɒzətɪv əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃn/
US/ˌpɑːzətɪv əˌsoʊsiˈeɪʃn/

Meanings

  1. nouncountabletechnical

    A relationship between two measures in which higher values of one tend to go with higher values of the other.

    Grammar: Countable: a positive association between sleep and grades.

    Patterns

    • a positive association between X and Y
    • a positive association with something

    The study found a positive association between exercise and mood.

    There is a positive association between height and weight.

    Researchers noted a positive association with family income.

  2. nouncountable

    A pleasant link in someone's mind between a thing and good feelings or memories.

    Grammar: Often used in psychology and marketing: a positive association with a brand.

    Patterns

    • a positive association with something

    Many people have a positive association with the smell of baking bread.

    The brand wants a positive association with trust.

Word forms

pluralpositive associations

Common combinations

find a positive association
Scientists found a positive association between reading and vocabulary.
strong positive association
There was a strong positive association in the data.
show a positive association
The graph shows a positive association.
positive association between
A positive association between trees and happiness appeared.

Synonyms and how they differ

positive correlation
Positive correlation is the more mathematical term and implies a measured number, while association is looser.
link
Link is everyday and does not say whether the relationship goes up or down.
connection
Connection is general and does not specify direction as positive association does.

Opposites

negative associationno association

Word family

associate verb
to connect in the mind
association noun
a connection between things
correlate verb
to have a relationship
correlation noun
a statistical relationship

Commonly confused: positive association or causation?

positive association vs causation

Causation means one thing makes another happen, while a positive association only says they rise together.

Practice

A positive association between study time and test scores means that ____.

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