Psych 261 Chapter 9

Which of the following phrases would NOT suggest that multiple regression was used?

"made a difference in"

Which of the following is TRUE about the difference between beta and r?

Unlike r, beta reflects the independent contribution of the predictor variable, controlling for the contributions from the other predictor variables.

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. They found that foreign language anxiety was â =-0.39 and academic achievement was â = 0.29. What does this mean?

Foreign language anxiety has a bigger effect than academic achievement does on foreign language achievement.

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. They found â = -0.39 for foreign language anxiety. What does this mean?

People with lower levels of anxiety about learning a foreign language have higher levels of achievement in foreign language.

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. The beta for the predictor variable of perceived scholastic competence was positive and statistically significant. Why couldn't you say that perceived scholastic competence improves foreign language achievement?

The temporal precedence is not established and there may be another variable that accounts for the relationship.

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that home life satisfaction measured at the first time point is strongly correlated with job satisfaction at the second time point, but there is no correlation between job satisfaction measured at the first time point and home life satisfaction measured at the second time point. Why can't Dr. Horvat conclude that home life satisfaction causes job satisfaction?

There are potential third variables that might explain the relationship.

A multiple-regression analysis is run to examine third variables as a follow-up to the study indicating that boys with unusual names are more likely to commit crimes. Unusual names, ethnic backgrounds, and geographical regions are all included as predictor variables. Even after controlling for all of these variables, unusual names still predict criminal activity. Why doesn't this study establish causation?

There may be some other third variable.

In a study in which two variables are measured at two different points in time, which of the following is an example of a cross-lag correlation?

Variable A at Time 1 is associated with Variable B at Time 2.

Iva is studying whether students gain weight during their first year of college. She collects weights from all the incoming freshmen in the fall, then collects weights from them again at the end of the spring term. What is the term for the correlation she finds when she compares the fall and spring weights of the students?

autocorrelations

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that job satisfaction at the first time point is correlated with job satisfaction at the second time. What type of correlation is this?

autocorrelations

How do multiple-regression designs help address internal validity?

by ruling out third variables

Dr. Russell did a study that found that praise provided by supervisors is associated with higher levels of work productivity only because more motivated employees are praised more often, and highly motivated people are more productive. In her findings, employee motivation is a ___________ in the relationship between praise from supervisors and work productivity.

confounding third variable

Dr. Stevens did a study that found that having a cognitively demanding job is associated with cognitive benefits in later years because people who are highly educated take cognitively demanding jobs, and people who are highly educated have better cognitive skills. She found that the amount of education is a ________ in the relationship between having demanding job and cognitive benefits in later years.

confounding third variable

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that home life satisfaction measured at the first time point is strongly correlated with job satisfaction at the second time point, but there is no correlation between job satisfaction measured at the first time point and home life satisfaction measured at the second time point. Which of the three criteria for causation does Professor Horvat's study fulfill?

covariance and temporal precedence

When using multiple regression, what is the term for the variable that the researcher is most interested in explaining or predicting?

criterion

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that home life satisfaction measured at the first time point is strongly correlated with job satisfaction measured at the second time point. What type of correlation is this?

cross-lag

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that, at both the first time point and the second time point, there is a strong correlation between work satisfaction and home life satisfaction. What type of correlations are these?

cross-sectional

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. What is the criterion variable?

foreign language achievement

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. Which of the following is NOT a predictor variable?

foreign language achievement

What type of research design involves measuring the same variables, for the same people, across different points in time?

longitudinal

Dr. Samuels does a study that finds that children with unusual names are more likely to have delinquency records as adolescents because they got teased more, and the teasing makes them act out. He found that teasing is a ________ in the relationship between having an unusual name and adolescent delinquency.

mediator

When a third variable explains the relationship between two other variables, that kind of a third variable is called a:

mediator

Dr. Aarons does a study that finds that having a cognitively demanding job is associated with cognitive benefits in later years, but only among men, not among women. In her findings, gender is a _________ in the relationship between having a cognitively demanding job and cognitive benefits later in life.

moderator

When a relationship between two variables depends on the level of a third variable, that kind of a third variable is called a:

moderator.

What is it called when researchers investigate causality by using a variety of correlational studies that all point in a single, causal direction?

pattern and parsimony