Pearson Correlation
The Pearson correlation allows us to establish the strength of relationships between continuous variables.
To show the relationship, the first step is to draw a scatterplot or scattergram, which can help us to obtain a preliminary understanding of this relationship.
The scatterplot can be described in terms of direction, strength and linearity.
Correlation and SPSS
Pearson product-moment coefficient is designed for interval level (continuous) variables. It can also be used if you have one continuous variable (e.g., scores on a measure of self-esteem) and one dichotomous variable (e.g., sex: M/F).
Spearman rank order correlation is designed for use with ordinal level or ranked data.
SPSS will calculate two types of correlation. First, it will give a simple bivariate correlation (which just means between two variables), also known as zero-order correlation. SPSS will also explore the relationship between two variables, while controlling for another variable. This is known as partial correlation.