Questions and Answers of Essentials Of Statistics For The Behavioral Sciences

The Chronicle of Higher Education (January 29, 2003) summarized an article that appeared on the American Prospect web site titled “College Try: Why Universities Should Stop Encouraging Applicants
Suppose a random sample will be selected from a population that is known to have a normal distribution. Then the statistichas a standard normal (z) distribution. Since it is rarely the case that σ
Open the applet (available in Thomson NOW at www.thomsonedu.com/login) called Confidence Intervals. You should see a screen like the one shown.Getting Started: If the “Method” box does not say
This activity presumes that you have already worked through Activity 9.1. In Section 9.2, it was suggested that a confidence interval of the formwhereis an alternative to the usual large-sample z
The following data on gross efficiency (ratio of work accomplished per minute to calorie expenditure per minute) for trained endurance cyclists were given in the article “Cycling Efficiency Is
Fat contents (in percentage) for 10 randomly selected hot dogs were given in the article “Sensory and Mechanical Assessment of the Quality of Frankfurters” (Journal of Texture Studies [1990]:
The following data are the calories per half-cup serving for 16 popular chocolate ice cream brands reviewed by Consumer Reports (July 1999):Is it reasonable to use the t confidence interval to
The article “Selected Characteristics of High-Risk Students and Their Enrollment Persistence” (Journal of College Student Development [1994]: 54–60) examined factors that affect whether
The McClatchy News Service (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, June 13, 1991) reported on a study of violence on television during primetime hours. The following table summarizes the information
Let π denote the proportion of voters in a certain state who favor a particular proposed constitutional amendment. Consider testing H0: π = .5 versus Ha: π > .5 at significance level .05 based
In 2003, petitions were submitted to the California Secretary of State calling for the recall of Governor Gray Davis. Each of California’s 58 counties then had to report the number of valid
Write a meaningful paragraph that includes the following six terms: sample, population, confidence level, estimate, mean, margin of error.A “meaningful paragraph” is a coherent piece writing in
Five hundred randomly selected working adults living in Calgary, Canada were asked how long, in minutes, their typical daily commute was (Calgary Herald Traffic Study, Ipsos, September 17, 2005). The
The article “First Year Academic Success: A Prediction Combining Cognitive and Psychosocial Variables for Caucasian and African American Students” (Journal of College Student Development [1999]:
The article “National Geographic, the Doomsday Machine,” which appeared in the March 1976 issue of the Journal of Irreproducible Results (yes, there really is a journal by that name—it’s a
Despite protests from civil libertarians and gay rights activists, many people favor mandatory AIDS testing of certain at-risk groups, and some people even believe that all citizens should be tested.
Retailers report that the use of cents-off coupons is increasing. The Scripps Howard News Service (July 9, 1991) reported the proportion of all households that use coupons as .77. Suppose that this
The Chronicle of Higher Education (January 13, 1993) reported that 72.1% of those responding to a national survey of college freshmen were attending the college of their first choice. Suppose that n
Increases in worker injuries and disability claims have prompted renewed interest in workplace design and regulation. As one particular aspect of this, employees required to do regular lifting should
The Gallup Organization conducted a telephone survey on attitudes toward AIDS (Gallup Monthly, 1991). A total of 1014 individuals were contacted. Each individual was asked whether they agreed with
A well-designed and safe workplace can contribute greatly to increasing productivity. It is especially important that workers not be asked to perform tasks, such as lifting, that exceed their
The Center for Urban Transportation Research released a report stating that the average commuting distance in the United States is 10.9 mi (USA Today, August 13, 1991). Suppose that this average is
In 1991, California imposed a “snack tax” (a sales tax on snack food) in an attempt to help balance the state budget. A proposed alternative tax was a 12¢-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax.
Write a meaningful paragraph that includes the following six terms: hypotheses, P-value, reject H0, Type I error, statistical significance, practical significance.A “meaningful paragraph” is a
The mean length of long-distance telephone calls placed with a particular phone company was known to be 7.3 min under an old rate structure. In an attempt to be more competitive with other
According to the article “Workaholism in Organizations: Gender Differences” (Sex Roles [1999]: 333–346), the following data were reported on 1996 income for random samples of male and female
Pizza Hut, after test-marketing a new product called the Bigfoot Pizza, concluded that introduction of the Bigfoot nationwide would increase its sales by more than 14% (USA Today, April 2, 1993).
The success of the U.S. census depends on people filling out and returning census forms. Despite extensive advertising, many Americans are skeptical about claims that the Census Bureau will guard the
Teenagers (age 15 to 20) make up 7% of the driving population. The article “More States Demand Teens Pass Rigorous Driving Tests” (San Luis Obispo Tribune, January 27, 2000) described a study of
Newly purchased automobile tires of a certain type are supposed to be filled to a pressure of 30 psi. Let μ denote the true average pressure. Find the P-value associated with each of the following
The desired percentage of silicon dioxide in a certain type of cement is 5.0%. A random sample of n = 36 specimens gave a sample average percentage of x̅ = 5.21. Let μ be the true average
Typically, only very brave students are willing to speak out in a college classroom. Student participation may be especially difficult if the individual is from a different culture or country. The
The article “Credit Cards and College Students: Who Pays, Who Benefits?” (Journal of College Student Development [1998]: 50–56) described a study of credit card payment practices of college
According to the article “Which Adults Do Underage Youth Ask for Cigarettes?” (American Journal of Public Health [1999]: 1561–1564), 43.6% of the 149 18- to 19-year-olds in a random sample have
The state of Georgia’s HOPE scholarship program guarantees fully paid tuition to Georgia public universities for Georgia high school seniors who have a B average in academic requirements as long as
The Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMAS) was administered to 333 male students at a public university. Of these students, 155 were randomly selected from students who did not belong to a fraternity, and
Does clear-cutting of trees in an area cause local extinction of the tailed frog? We don’t really know, but an article that begins to address that issue attempts to quantify aspects of the habitat
Are young women delaying marriage and marrying at a later age? This question was addressed in a report issued by the Census Bureau (Associated Press, June 8, 1991). The report stated that in 1970
British health officials have expressed concern about problems associated with vitamin D deficiency among certain immigrants. Doctors have conjectured that such a deficiency could be related to the
Seat belts help prevent injuries in automobile accidents, but they certainly don’t offer complete protection in extreme situations. A random sample of 319 front-seat occupants involved in head-on
Techniques for processing poultry were examined in the article “Texture Profiles of Canned Boned Chicken as Affected by Chilling-Aging Times” (Poultry Science [1994]: 1475–1478). Whole chickens
White remains the most popular car color in the United States, but its popularity appears to be slipping. According to an annual survey by DuPont (Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1994), white was the
When a published article reports the results of many hypothesis tests, the P-values are not usually given. Instead, the following type of coding scheme is frequently used: *p = .05, **p = .01, ***p =
A random sample of n = 44 individuals with a B.S. degree in accounting who started with a Big Eight accounting firm and subsequently changed jobs resulted in a sample mean time to change of 35.02
What motivates companies to offer stock ownership plans to their employees? In a random sample of 87 companies having such plans, 54 said that the primary rationale was tax related (“The Advantages
A type of lie detector that measures brain waves was developed by a professor of neurobiology at Northwestern University (Associated Press, July 7, 1988). He said, “It would probably not falsely
Do you think that a football filled with helium will travel farther than a football filled with air?Two researchers at the Ohio State University investigated this question by performing an experiment
The effect of exercise on the amount of lactic acid in the blood was examined in the article “A Descriptive Analysis of Elite-Level Racquetball” (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport [1991]:
The article “Workaholism in Organizations: Gender Differences” (Sex Roles [1999]: 333–346) gave the following data on 1996 income (in Canadian dollars) for random samples of male and female MBA
Background: In this activity you will design two experiments that would allow you to investigate whether people tend to have quicker reflexes when reacting with their dominant hand than with their
Snake experts believe that venomous snakes inject different amounts of venom when killing their prey. Researchers at the University of Wyoming tested this hypothesis to determine whether young
Write a meaningful paragraph that includes the following six terms: paired samples, significantly different, P-value, sample, population, alternative hypothesis. A “meaningful paragraph” is a
According to the Associated Press (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, June 23, 1995), a study by Italian researchers indicated that low cholesterol and depression were linked. The researchers found
The article “The Sorority Rush Process: Self- Selection, Acceptance Criteria, and the Effect of Rejection” (Journal of College Student Development [1994]: 346–353) reported on a study of
Do teenage boys worry more than teenage girls? This is one of the questions addressed by the authors of the article “The Relationship of Self-Esteem and Attributional Style to Young People’s
The effect of loneliness among college students was examined in the article “The Importance of Perceived Duration: Loneliness and Its Relationship to Self- Esteem and Academic Performance”
The article “Report: Mixed Progress in Math” (USA Today, August 3, 2001) gave data for all 50 states on the percentage of public school students who were at or above the proficient level in
The coloration of male guppies may affect the mating preference of the female guppy. To test this hypothesis, scientists first identified two types of guppies, Yarra and Paria, that display different
The article “The Relationship of Task and Ego Orientation to Sportsmanship Attitudes and the Perceived Legitimacy of Injurious Acts” (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport [1991]: 79–87)
Many people who quit smoking complain of weight gain. The results of an investigation of the relationship between smoking cessation and weight gain are given in the article “Does Smoking Cessation
The article “Foraging Behavior of the Indian False Vampire Bat” (Biotropica [1991]: 63–67) reported that 36 of 193 female bats in flight spent more than 5 min in the air before locating food.
Gender differences in student needs and fears were examined in the article “A Survey of Counseling Needs of Male and Female College Students” (Journal of College Student Development [1998]:
The state of Georgia’s HOPE scholarship program guarantees fully paid tuition to Georgia public universities for Georgia high school seniors who have a B average in academic requirements as long as
An Associated Press article (San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, September 23, 1995) examined the changing attitudes of Catholic priests. National surveys of priests aged 26 to 35 were conducted in
Data on self-esteem, leadership ability, and GPA were used to compare college students who were hired as resident assistants at Mississippi State University and those who were not hired (“Wellness
Are workers less likely to quit their jobs when wages are high than when they are low? The paper “Investigating the Causal Relationship Between Quits andWages: An Exercise in Comparative
The article “Cost-Effectiveness in Public Education” (Chance [1995]: 38–41) reported that, for a sample of n = 44 New Jersey school districts, a regression of y = average SAT score on x =
The accompanying data on x = treadmill run time to exhaustion (min) and y = 20-km ski time (min) were taken from the article “Physiological Characteristics and Performance of Top U.S. Biathletes”
Legumes, such as peas and beans, are important crops whose production is greatly affected by pests. The article “Influence of Wind Speed on Residence Time of Uroleucon ambrosiae alatae on Bean
The following table is based on data reported in “Light-to-Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Stroke Among U.S. Male Physicians” (New England Journal of Medicine [1999]: 1557–1564). The
Consider the following data on height (in inches) and number of siblings for a random sample of 10 female students at a large university.1. Construct a scatterplot of the given data. Does there
The article “Identification of Cola Beverages” (Journal of Applied Psychology [1962]: 356–360) reported on an experiment in which each of 79 subjects was presented with glasses of cola in pairs
The article “Victim’s Race Affects Killer’s Sentence, Study Finds” (New York Times, April 20, 2001) included the following information:The table was based on a study of all homicide cases in
Job satisfaction of professionals was examined in the article “Psychology of the Scientist: Work-Related Attitudes of U.S. Scientists” (Psychological Reports [1991]: 443–450). Each person in a
The accompanying table appeared in the article “Europe’s Receptivity to New Religious Movements: Round Two” (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion [1993]: 389–397). Suppose that the
The article “Mortality Among Recent Purchasers of Handguns” (New England Journal of Medicine [1999]: 1583–1589) examined the relationship between handgun purchases and cause of death. Suppose
The article “Motion Sickness in Public Road Transport: The Effect of Driver, Route and Vehicle” (Ergonomics [1999]: 1646–1664) reported that seat position within a bus may have some effect on
The report “Health Insurance Coverage of the Near Elderly” (Urban Institute, July 2000) includes information from a study of American adults. The sample used in the study was a random sample of
Do women have different patterns of work behavior than men? The article “Workaholism in Organizations: Gender Differences” (Sex Roles: A Journal of Research [1999]: 333–346) attempts to answer
Data presented in the article “Manganese Intake and Serum Manganese Concentration of Human Milk-Fed and Formula-Fed Infants” (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [1984]: 872–878) suggest
When public opinion surveys are conducted by mail, a cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey is usually included. To determine whether the wording of the cover letter influences the
When charities solicit donations, they must know what approach will encourage people to donate. Would a picture of a needy child tug at the heartstrings and convince someone to contribute to the
The article “Religion and Well-Being Among Canadian University Students: The Role of Faith Groups on Campus” (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion [1994]: 62–73) compared the
There is evidence to suggest that human beings are not very good random number generators. In this activity, you will investigate this phenomenon by collecting and analyzing a set of human-generated
Does the color of a food or beverage affect the way people perceive its taste? In this activity you will conduct an experiment to investigate this question and analyze the resulting data using a
Working with a partner, consider the following:1. Each of the four accompanying graphs shows a dotplot of data from three separate random samples. For each of the four dotplots, indicate whether you
Exercise 15.8 presented the accompanying summary information on satisfaction levels for employees on three different work schedulesMSE was computed to be 2.028. Calculate the 95% T–K intervals, and
The article “Growth Response in Radish to Sequential and Simultaneous Exposures of NO2 and SO2” (Environmental Pollution [1984]: 303–325) compared a control group (no exposure), a sequential
The accompanying underscoring pattern appeared in the article “Effect of SO2 on Transpiration, Chlorophyll Content, Growth, and Injury in Young Seedlings of Woody Angiosperms” (Canadian Journal
Sample mean chlorophyll concentrations for the four Jerusalem artichoke varieties introduced in Exercise 15.9 were .30, .24, .41, and .33, with corresponding sample sizes of 5, 5, 4, and 6,
Parents are frequently concerned when their child seems slow to begin walking (although when the child finally walks, the resulting havoc sometimes has the parents wishing they could turn back the
The article referenced in Exercise 15.24 reported on a study involving the following four learning methods:(1) Visual contact and imagery, (2) Nonvisual contact and imagery, (3) Visual
The degree of success at mastering a skill often depends on the method used to learn the skill. The article “Effects of Occluded Vision and Imagery on Putting Golf Balls” (Perceptual and Motor
The article “Heavy Drinking and Problems Among Wine Drinkers” (Journal of Studies on Alcohol [1999]: 467–471) analyzed drinking problems among Canadians. For each of several different groups of
An investigation carried out to study purchasers of luxury automobiles reported data on a number of different attributes that might affect purchase decisions, including comfort, safety, styling,
Research carried out to investigate the relationship between smoking status of workers and short-term absenteeism rate (hr/mo) yielded the accompanying summary information (“Work-Related
Some investigators think that the concentration (mg/mL) of a particular antigen in supernatant fluids could be related to onset of meningitis in infants. The accompanying data are typical of that
The Gunning Fog index is a measure of reading difficulty based on the average number of words per sentence and the percentage of words with three or more syllables. High values of the Gunning Fog
The article “The Soundtrack of Recklessness: Musical Preferences and Reckless Behavior Among Adolescents” (Journal of Adolescent Research [1992]: 313–331) described a study whose purpose was to
The partially completed ANOVA table given in this problem is taken from the article “Perception of Spatial Incongruity” (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease [1961]: 222), in which the abilities

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