1. Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
Susan A. Nolan and Thomas E. Heinzen
Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
Second Edition
Chapter 1:
An Introduction to Statistics and Research Design
iClicker Questions
Copyright © 2012 by Worth Publishers

2. Chapter 1
1. A statistics instructor is interested in determining the average SAT score of students in her class. The instructor finds that, on average, students in her statistics class scored a 540 on their SATs. Is this statement an example of a descriptive or an inferential statistic?
a) inferential
b) descriptive
c) both inferential and descriptive
d) none of these

3. Chapter (Answer)
1. A statistics instructor is interested in determining the average SAT score of students in her class. The instructor finds that, on average, students in her statistics class scored a 540 on their SATs. Is this statement an example of a descriptive or an inferential statistic?
a) inferential
b) descriptive
c) both inferential and descriptive
d) none of these

4. Chapter 1
2. Professor Green is interested in determining the average SAT score for the entire population of individuals who took the SAT. She wants to know how her class compares to the population of students who took the SAT. She finds that the average SAT score for the population is 500. Is this statement an example of a descriptive or an inferential statistic?
a) inferential
b) descriptive
c) both inferential and descriptive
d) none of the above

5. Chapter (Answer)
2. Professor Green is interested in determining the average SAT score for the entire population of individuals who took the SAT. She wants to know how her class compares to the population of students who took the SAT. She finds that the average SAT score for the population is 500. Is this statement an example of a descriptive or an inferential statistic?
a) inferential
b) descriptive
c) both inferential and descriptive
d) none of the above

6. Chapter 1
3. You are scheduled to visit your physician for a routine check-up. Your doctor performs a routine medical exam which includes measuring your height and weight in addition to your blood pressure and temperature. Indicate the scale of measurement for height.
a) nominal
b) ordinal
c) ratio
d) interval

7. Chapter (Answer)
3. You are scheduled to visit your physician for a routine check-up. Your doctor performs a routine medical exam which includes measuring your height and weight in addition to your blood pressure and temperature. Indicate the scale of measurement for height.
a) nominal
b) ordinal
c) ratio
d) interval

8. Chapter 1 4. Indicate the scale of measurement for temperature.
a) nominal
b) ordinal
c) ratio
d) interval

9. Chapter (Answer)
4. Indicate the scale of measurement for temperature.
a) nominal
b) ordinal
c) ratio
d) interval

10. Chapter 1
5. A sports psychologist developed a program to improve a team’s playing ability. The sports psychologist measured each student’s playing ability before and after his program to determine whether students would play better. He found that, after his program, students played significantly better. However, many students later reported that they had also begun consuming more fruits within the same time frame to help them play better. In this example, what is the independent variable?
a) the program developed by the sports psychologist
b) playing ability
c) consuming more fruits
d) the sports psychologist

11. Chapter (Answer)
5. A sports psychologist developed a program to improve a team’s playing ability. The sports psychologist measured each student’s playing ability before and after his program to determine whether students would play better. He found that, after his program, students played significantly better. However, many students later reported that they had also begun consuming more fruits within the same time frame to help them play better. In this example, what is the independent variable?
a) the program developed by the sports psychologist
b) playing ability
c) consuming more fruits
d) the sports psychologist

12. Chapter 1 6. What is the dependent variable?
a) the sports psychologist
b) consuming more fruits
c) playing ability
d) program developed by the sports psychologist

13. Chapter 1 (Answer) 6. What is the dependent variable?
a) the sports psychologist
b) consuming more fruits
c) playing ability
d) program developed by the sports psychologist

14. Chapter 1 7. What is the confounding variable?
a) the sports psychologist
b) consuming more fruits
c) playing ability
d) program developed by the sports psychologist

15. Chapter 1 (Answer) 7. What is the confounding variable?
a) the sports psychologist
b) consuming more fruits
c) playing ability
d) program developed by the sports psychologist

16. Chapter 1
8. Dr. Marbles decides to adopt an unconventional (and rather inappropriate) way of assigning grades to students in his Introductory Psychology class. Three times throughout the semester, he has his students line-up from tallest to shortest. He then assigns ‘A’s to the fifth of the class that is shortest, ‘B’s to the next fifth of shortest students and so on (so that the fifth of the class that is tallest receives ‘F’s). At the end of the semester, Dr. Marbles averages across these grades to determine a final grade. While Dr. Marbles grading methods may see problematic, which of these statements is true about the student’s exam grades?
a) His exam grades are valid but lack reliability.
b) His exam grades are reliable but lack validity.
c) His exam grades are neither reliable nor valid.
d) His exam grades are both reliable and valid.

17. Chapter (Answer)
8. Dr. Marbles decides to adopt an unconventional (and rather inappropriate) way of assigning grades to students in his Introductory Psychology class. Three times throughout the semester, he has his students line-up from tallest to shortest. He then assigns ‘A’s to the fifth of the class that is shortest, ‘B’s to the next fifth of shortest students and so on (so that the fifth of the class that is tallest receives ‘F’s). At the end of the semester, Dr. Marbles averages across these grades to determine a final grade. While Dr. Marbles grading methods may see problematic, which of these statements is true about the student’s exam grades?
a) His exam grades are valid but lack reliability.
b) His exam grades are reliable but lack validity.
c) His exam grades are neither reliable nor valid.
d) His exam grades are both reliable and valid.

18. Chapter 1
9. Which statement addresses why random assignment of participants to conditions is necessary for an experiment?
a) It puts all of the confounding variables in one group.
b) It makes the independent variable equal to the dependent variable.
c) Every participant in the study has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition.
d) It allows the participants to choose which experimental condition of the study to partake in.

19. Chapter (Answer)
Which statement addresses why random assignment of participants to conditions is necessary for an experiment?
a) It puts all of the confounding variables in one group.
b) It makes the independent variable equal to the dependent variable.
c) Every participant in the study has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition.
d) It allows the participants to choose which experimental condition of the study to partake in.

20. Chapter 1
10. Jamie is randomly assigned to participate in the experimental condition and Marie is randomly assigned to participate in the control condition of a research study. The research study must be:
a) a between-groups research design.
b) a within-groups research design.
c) a correlational research design.
d) a confounded research design.

21. Chapter (Answer)
10. Jamie is randomly assigned to participate in the experimental condition and Marie is randomly assigned to participate in the control condition of a research study. The research study must be:
a) a between-groups research design.
b) a within-groups research design.
c) a correlational research design.
d) a confounded research design.

22. Chapter 1
Professor Vasquez has seven students in her statistics class. On Exam 1 the students received the following seven grades: 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 83, and Gina is the student who received the grade of Gina’s score would be considered:
a) the mean
b) a nominal variable
c) an inferential statistic
d) an outlier

23. Chapter (Answer)
Professor Vasquez has seven students in her statistics class. On Exam 1 the students received the following seven grades: 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 83, and Gina is the student who received the grade of Gina’s score would be considered:
a) the mean
b) a nominal variable
c) an inferential statistic
d) an outlier