Chapter 1 Introduction to Statistics Quiz 1

A doctor is measuring children's heights to the nearest inch and obtains scores such as 40, 41, 42, and so on. What are the real limits for a score of X = 42?

41.5 and 42.5

The relationship between a statistic and a sample is the same as the relationship between _____.

a parameter and a population

The main distinction between an interval and ratio scale of measurement is that _____.

a score of 0 on a ratio scale represents the complete absence of that variable.

Organizing a set of scores in a table or computing an average to summarize a data set is an example of using ______.

descriptive statistics.

If it is impossible to divide the existing categories of a variable, then it is an example of a(n) _____ variable.

discrete

The number of absences for each student within a psychology class is an example of a _____ variable.

discrete

In order for a researcher to obtain a random sample, they need to specifically do which of the following things?

ensure that each person in the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample

Sarah is conducting a research study in which one group of participants consume one cup of coffee, whereas another group of participants consume two cups of coffee. Then, she assesses attention levels of these participants following coffee consumption. This is an example of a(n) _____ research study.

experimental

A recent study reported that students who just finished playing a prosocial video game were more likely to help others than students who had just finishing playing a neutral or antisocial game. For this study, the kind of game given to the students was the _____.

independent variable.

Sam is a researcher measuring individuals' attitudes toward police officers. Individuals respond to a survey question that asks them to choose the number (0-4) that best characterizes their attitudes toward police officers using the provided response options: 0 = Extremely negative attitude, 1 = Negative attitude, 2 = Neutral attitude, 3 = Positive attitude, 4 = Extremely positive attitude. In this example, attitudes toward police officers are being measured using a(n) _____ scale of measurement.

interval

After assessing two individuals' intelligence levels using a questionnaire, a researcher can conclude that Tom's intelligence score is 4 points higher than Bill's. The observations that serve as the basis for this conclusion must come from a(n) _____.

interval scale of measurement

For an experiment comparing the effectiveness of two different teaching methods for improving the social skills of autistic children, the dependent variable would be the _____.

levels of improvement in social skills among autistic children.

Inferential statistics allow researchers to _____.

make predictions and generalizations about populations

Which of the following is a critical unique aspect of the experimental method when examining the relationship between two variables?

manipulation of one variable

Students in an introductory art class are classified as art majors and non-art majors. Which scale of measurement is being used to classify the students?

nominal

A quasi-independent variable is most similar to and consistent with which of the following terms?

non-equivalent groups research study

Barbara is a psychologist who measures relationship satisfaction among couples by observing non-verbal behavior (e.g., smiling, mimicking partner actions). In this example, non-verbal behavior is an example of a(n) _____.

operational definition.

A tenet of the scientific method is that _____ allow researchers to examine mental processes and behavior in an empirical, scientific manner.

operational definitions

The participants in a research study self-report their sleep quality levels by choosing the response option that best characterizes their average sleep quality per night from the following response options: 1 = extremely low sleep quality, 2 = very low sleep quality, 3 = low sleep quality, 4 = extremely high sleep quality. Which measurement scale is being used to classify sleep quality?

ordinal

A researcher is curious about the average monthly car insurance bill for high school students in the state of Florida. If this average could be obtained, it would be an example of a _____.

parameter.

A researcher uses an anonymous survey to investigate the television-viewing habits of 100 American adolescents. The researcher plans to make an inference about the television-viewing habits of all American adolescents based on the results of the survey. The entire group of American adolescents is an example of a _____.

population.

For a research study examining how participant gender influences support for equality in society, participant gender is an example of which kind of variable?

quasi-independent variable

What scale of measurement is being used when a researcher measures the amount of car accidents that participants have been involved in during their lifetime?

ratio

A researcher uses an anonymous survey to investigate the social media habits of American college students. Based on the set of 300 surveys that were completed and returned, the researcher finds that students spend an average of 2 hours each day using social media. The set of 300 students who returned surveys is an example of a _____.

sample.

The average verbal SAT score for the entire class of incoming college freshmen in the United States is 530. However, if a sample of 20 incoming college freshmen is randomly selected from the United States, it is likely that this sample's average verbal SAT score will not be exactly 530. This is consistent with the concept of _____.

sampling error

A characteristic, usually a numerical value, which describes a sample is called a _____.

statistic.

What additional information is obtained by measuring two individuals on an interval scale compared to an ordinal scale?

the size of the difference

Which statement below regarding populations is true?

It usually is challenging to obtain data from every person in a population.

Random assignment helps to strengthen causal inferences within an experiment by ruling out potential confounding variables otherwise introduced to an experiment due to individual differences in participants.

True

Which of the following statements is consistent with a research study conducted with the correlational method?

Two variables are measured, and there is only one group of participants

Martha conducts a research study in which she measures how long participants spend trying to solve an impossible problem-solving task before giving up as a measure of perseverance. In this example, perseverance is an example of a(n) _____.

construct.

The amount of time that it takes a person to solve a problem is an example of a(n) _____ variable.

continuous

Which kind of variable requires the use of real limits?

continuous

A researcher is interested in average first semester change in weight (gain or loss) for students at a local college. Thus, they record the individual change in weight for a small group of 25 freshman from this college during their first semester. Then, the researcher calculates the average change in weight during the first semester among these 25 students. The average is an example of a ______.

statistic.

What additional information is obtained by measuring two individuals on an ordinal scale compared to a nominal scale?

the direction of the difference

Consider the mathematical expressions of (ΣX)2 and ΣX2. A valid generalization is that _____.

the first equation typically will yield a higher computed value.

Keith conducts a research study to examine how mental fatigue influences frustration levels. He has one group of participants complete a mentally exhausting problem-solving task for ten minutes, and a second group of participants complete an easy crossword puzzle for ten minutes. Then, he observes participant reactions to being prevented from achieving a desired goal on a second unrelated task as a measure of frustration levels. In this research study, the experimental condition is _____.

the group of participants who complete the mentally exhausting problem-solving task.

Lauren is a psychologist interested in whether observing helpful actions while consuming media causes greater future helping behavior. She designs a research study in which one group of participants watch a pleasant television show depicting people helping others for 20 minutes, whereas a second group of participants watch a pleasant television show for 20 minutes where no helping behavior takes place. After watching the show assigned to them, participants in each group are then provided the opportunity to help another student who drops a folder of papers, and Lauren records whether each participant helps this other student or not. In this research study, the control condition is _____.

the group of participants who watch the pleasant television show for 20 minutes where no helping behavior takes place

In contrast to a datum, which of the following descriptions is most consistent with the concept of data?

the individual scores of 15 participants on a problem-solving task

You are instructed to square each score and subtract four points from the sum of these squared scores. How would this set of instructions be expressed in summation notation?

Σ(X 2) - 4