1. Chapter Nine: Variability , the normal curve, correlation
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

2. Practice
A researcher examines whether scores on a final exam are influenced by whether background music is soft, loud, or absent.
What is the independent variable?
Is the independent variable manipulated or not manipulated?
How many levels are there for the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What is the scale of measurement for the dependent variable?
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

3. Practice
A researcher compares freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors with respect to how much fun they have while attending college (1 = no fun at all, 7 = maximum amount of fun).
What is the independent variable?
Is the independent variable manipulated or not manipulated?
How many levels are there for the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What is the scale of measurement for the dependent variable?
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

4. Suppose we conduct a study on whether hand stamps at bars affect behavior. As patrons enter a bar, they are randomly assigned to receive one of the following hand stamps:
“AIDS Kills”
“Practice Safe Sex”
Smiley face
No stamp
At the exit of the bar, there is a table where people can buy condoms at a greatly reduced price. We are interested in seeing if the type of hand stamp affects how many condoms patrons buy. It was hypothesized that a fear message (“AIDS Kills”) would be more effective in persuading people to buy condoms than a non-fear messages.
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

5. Number of condoms purchased
AIDS kills (n=5)
Safe Sex(n=5)
Smiley face(n=5)
None(n=5) 5 4 6 2 3 1
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

6. Practice
What kind of study is this (e.g., survey, case study, observational study, correlational study, experiment)?
Identify the independent variable in this study.
How many levels does this independent variable have?
What is the dependent variable in this study?
What is the level of measurement for the dependent variable?
What is the mean number of condoms bought by participants in each condition?
“AIDS Kills”: ________
“Practice Safe Sex”: ________
Smiley face: ________
No stamp: ________
Create an APA style bar graph depicting these means.
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

7. Objectives: Review measures of variability
Evaluate scores in relation to a distribution
Evaluate relationships between scores
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

8. Measure of Variability
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

9. Measures of Variability
Range
A measure of variability that is computed by subtracting the smallest score from the largest score.
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

10. Measures of Variability
Range
Variance
A single number that represents the total amount of variation in a distribution.
The mean of the squared deviations from the mean
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

11. Measures of Variability
Range
Variance
Standard Deviation
The standard deviation is the square root of the variance. It has important relations to the normal curve.
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

12. Measures of Variability
Normal distribution
A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution having half the scores above the mean and half the scores below the mean.
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

13. Normal Distribution and standard deviation
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

14. Computing z-scores
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

15. Practice problem Data: 20, 6, 15, 22, 13, 9, 2, 20, 10
Make a frequency distribution
Describe shape (skew)
Find mode, median mean
Find range, variance and standard deviation
What is the z score for 6? 13? 22?
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

16. Answers 20 7 49 6 -7 15 2 4 22 9 81 13 -4 16
-11
121 10 -3
Mean = 13
Var = 42
SD = 6.5
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

17. Correlation Correlation Coefficient
A single number representing the degree of relation between two variables.
The value of a correlation coefficient can range from –1 to +1.
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

18. Relations between two variables
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

19. Computing the Correlation Coefficient (Pearson R)
                .
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

20. Example: Computing Pearson RY Zx Zy
12.00
7.00
.17700
.52350
15.00
3.00
.81419
8.00
4.00
11.00
5.00
17.00
9.00
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

21. Z scores and cross-productsZx Zy
ZxZy
0.177
0.524
0.09
0.814
-1.271
-1.03
-0.673
0.5235
0.351
-1.522
-0.822
0.250
-0.035
-0.374
0.01
1.239
1.420
1.76
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education

22. Computing the Correlation Coefficient (Pearson R)
1.73
                .
The Psychologist as Detective, 4e by Smith/Davis © 2007 Pearson Education