Uploaded document: A Crash Course in Statistics at FIU - The t-Test

Instructions: Research in legal psychology shows that eyewitnesses are greatly impacted by the manner in which investigators phrase their questions. For example, in 1974, Loftus and Palmer conducted a study where they had participants watch a video clip of a car accident and then answer questions about what the participants just witnessed. They assigned participants to one of two conditions where they altered the phrasing of one important question: How fast was the car going?" In one version (the smashed condition), they asked participants, "How fast was the car going when it smashed into the building"? In the other version (the hit condition), they asked participants, "How fast was the car going when it hit the building?" Participants then estimated the speed of the car (from a minimum of 0 miles per hour to as much as 160 miles per hour), with the researchers predicting that participants would estimate the speed as higher in the smashed condition than in the hit condition. Using this study set-up, answer the questions below and then transfer those answers to your Crash Course in Statistics - The t-Test Quiz #2 in Canvas (1 point per question). IMPORTANT: The answer options on Canvas may not be in the same order you see them below, so make sure to copy over the CONTENT of the answer and not simply the answer letter (A, B, C, D, or E). Note: If you want to run these analyses yourself, look for the SPSS file called "t-Test Crash Course Data - Summer Witness" in Canvas - not required, but definitely recommended!)

1). What is the independent variable in this study?

A. Whether the researchers asked or did not ask for an estimate of the car's speed

B. The estimated speed of the car from 0 to 160 miles per hour

C. Whether the question included the word "smashed" versus the word "hit"

D. Whether participants read about a car that did or did not have an accident

E. There is too little information in this study to determine the independent variable

2). What is the dependent variable in this study?

A. Whether the researchers asked or did not ask for an estimate of the car's speed

B. The estimated speed of the car from 0 to 160 miles per hour

C. Whether the questi3).

3) Choose the correct means and standard deviations for the Truthful Bragger and Nonbragger conditions. Make sure to round to two decimal places

A.The Smashed condition has a mean of 35.93 and a standard deviation of 6.22 while the Hit condition has a mean of 39.48 and standard deviation of 7.27.

B.The Smashed condition has a mean of 35.93 and standard deviation of 7.27 while the Hit condition has a mean of 39.48 and standard deviation of 6.22.

C.The Smashed condition has a mean of 39.48 and standard deviation of 6.22 while the Hit condition has a mean of 35.93 and a standard deviation of 7.23.

D.The Smashed condition has a mean of 7.27 and standard deviation of 39.48 while the Hit condition has a mean of 6.22 and a standard deviation of 35.93.

E.The Smashed condition has a mean of 39.48 and standard deviation of 7.27 while the Hit condition has a mean of 35.93 and a standard deviation of 6.22.

4). Is the t-Test significant, and how would you write that out in APA style?

A. Yes, the t-Test is significant, t(78) = 2.35, p

B. Yes, the t-Test is significant, t(78) = 2.35, p

C. Yes, the t-Test is significant, t(76.18) = 2.35, p

D. No, the t-Test is not significant, t(78) = 2.35, p .05

E. It is impossible to tell from this data set if the t-Test is significant

5). Finally, which of the following is the correct results as you would write them in an APA style results section.

A. We ran an independent samples t-Test with condition (Smashed versus Hit) as our independent variable and estimated speed as our dependent variable. The t-Test was significant, t(78) = 2.35, p M = 39.48, SD = 7.27) than in the hit condition (M = 35.92, SD = 6.22).

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