Deck 9: Multivariate Correlational Research

Question 1

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

In considering the three criteria for causation, which of the following questions will Dr. Farah's study NOT be able to address?

A)Is there covariance?
B)Is there temporal precedence?
C)Are there third variables that could explain the relationship?
D)Do the rules make intuitive sense?

Answer 1

Are there third variables that could explain the relationship?

Question 2

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Of the correlations listed in the table, how many are autocorrelations?

A)Two
B)Three
C)Four
D)Five

Answer 2

Two

Question 3

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Which of the following correlations is a cross-lag correlation?

A)Both Correlations 1 and 6
B)Both Correlations 2 and 5
C)Both Correlations 3 and 4
D)Both Correlations 3 and 5

Answer 3

Both Correlations 3 and 4

Question 4

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Correlation 4 is an example of which of the following types of correlations?

A)Autocorrelation
B)Multivariate correlation
C)Cross-sectional correlation
D)Cross-lag correlation

Question 5

Cross-lag correlations are NOT helpful for answering/addressing which rule of causation?

A)Rule of covariance: Is there covariance?
B)Rule of temporal precedence: Is there temporal precedence?
C)Are there third variables that could explain the relationship?
D)Rule of parsimony

Question 6

Which of the following studies is an example of a longitudinal design?

A)Dr. Finn's study in which he measured job commitment in a group of Japanese factory workers and in a group of Mexican factory workers
B)Dr. Stabler's study in which he measured people's frequency of playing video games in ninth grade and their aggressive behaviors in 12th grade
C)Dr. Benson's study in which she measured people's spatial manipulation ability in August and measured their ability again in May after they had taken two semesters of art classes
D)Dr. Tutola's study in which he measured the daily stress of a group of married men and the daily happiness of their spouses

Question 7

can be examined in both simple bivariate designs and longitudinal designs.

A)Autocorrelation
B)Cross-sectional correlation
C)Cross-lag correlation
D)Sequential correlation

Question 8

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Which of the correlations is an autocorrelation?

A)Correlation 1
B)Correlation 2
C)Correlation 4
D)Correlation 6

Question 9

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Of the correlations listed, how many are cross-sectional correlations?

A)One
B)Two
C)Three
D)Four

Question 10

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

A colleague of Dr. Farah's questions the internal validity of her causal claim. He is curious as to whether the relationship between homework and academic achievement could be explained by interest in one's classes. Specifically, he thinks that students who are interested in their classes will both do more homework and have higher GPAs. Which of the following is a solution to this possible threat to internal validity?

A)Dr. Farah should replicate her study.
B)Dr. Farah should also measure students' interest in their class.
C)Dr. Farah should measure students' interest in their class instead of time spent doing homework.
D)Dr. Farah should measure students' interest in their class instead of GPA.

Question 11

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

What type of study design is Dr. Farah using?

A)Quasi-experimental design
B)Bivariate correlational design
C)Multiple regression design
D)Longitudinal design

Question 12

When conducting longitudinal research, researchers typically find to be the most interesting.

A)autocorrelations
B)cross-sectional correlations
C)cross-lag correlations
D)multivariate correlations

Question 13

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Correlation 5 is an example of which of the following types of correlations?

A)Autocorrelation
B)Multivariate correlation
C)Cross-sectional correlation
D)Cross-lag correlation

Question 14

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Imagine that Dr. Farah noted a cyclical, reinforcing relationship between homework and academic achievement. For this to be case, which of the following correlations would need to be significant?

A)Correlations 1 and 6
B)Correlations 2 and 5
C)Correlations 3 and 4
D)Correlations 2 and 3

Question 15

Which of the following is a necessary component of a longitudinal design?

A)Measuring the same variables at two points in time
B)Measuring at least four variables at one time
C)Measuring different age groups at two different times
D)Manipulating a variable at two points in time

Question 16

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Correlation 1 is an example of which of the following types of correlations?

A)Autocorrelation
B)Multivariate correlation
C)Cross-sectional correlation
D)Cross-lag correlation

Question 17

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Based on her pattern of correlations, which of the following can Dr. Farah safely conclude?

A)Because Correlation 3 is significant but Correlation 4 is not, Dr. Farah has evidence that increased homework comes before academic achievement.
B)Because not all the correlations are significant, Dr. Farah has no evidence that increased homework comes before academic achievement.
C)Because Correlations 2 and 3 are significant, Dr. Farah has evidence that increased homework comes before academic achievement.
D)Because Correlation 4 is stronger than Correlation 5, Dr. Farah has no evidence that increased homework comes before academic achievement.

Question 18

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

For Dr. Farah to make the claim that homework causes academic achievement, which correlation does she predict will NOT be significant?

A)Correlation 1
B)Correlation 2
C)Correlation 3
D)Correlation 4

Question 19

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

Which of the following correlations is a cross-sectional correlation?

A)Correlation 3
B)Correlation 4
C)Correlation 5
D)Correlation 6

Question 20

RESEARCH STUDY 9.1: Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement. In January, Dr. Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement) and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester. In May, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations.

A colleague of Dr. Farah's asks her why she did not simply conduct an experiment. Which of the following is a probable reason for Dr. Farah's choice not to conduct an experiment?

A)It would be impossible to manipulate hours of homework completed.
B)It would be too costly/expensive to run an experiment.
C)It would be unethical to manipulate whether students are told to do homework for a semester.
D)It would take longer to conduct an experiment.

Question 21

RESEARCH STUDY 9.2: Dr. Finkel is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships. Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g., Dakin & Wampler, 2012). Dr. Finkel is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables, such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction. He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level, so he decides to use a multivariate design. He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction) can explain the relationship. He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center. Below are his results.

One of Dr. Finkel's colleagues argues that he should have considered years of marriage in his study, which is a known predictor of marital satisfaction. If Dr. Finkel conducts his study again and asks people to report on how many years they have been married as well, which of the following statements is true?

A)The beta value for number of arguments may no longer be statistically significant.
B)The beta value for number of arguments will remain unchanged.
C)He will need to add another criterion variable.
D)He will need to delete a predictor variable.

Question 22

RESEARCH STUDY 9.3: Dr. Cheong is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes). His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, he is curious as to whether the effect of emotional well-being occurs because people receive different levels of social support. He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by Hurricane Sandy (2012) to report on how their well-being was affected by the hurricane, the social support felt after the storm, and the number of PTSD symptoms. Dr. Cheong finds support for his proposed relationship. However, in examining his data more closely, he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women.
Which of the following is the mediating variable in Dr. Cheong's hypothesis?

A)Emotional well-being
B)PTSD symptoms
C)Social support
D)Participant sex

Question 23

A researcher has examined a variety of correlational studies that point to a causal relationship between two variables. All of the studies have found a positive relationship between the two variables, but for ethical reasons, no experiments have been conducted. Using an approach of pattern and parsimony, the researcher may begin to make a causal claim by doing which of the following?

A)Running another correlational study but with more people
B)Specifying a mechanism or explanation for the causal relationship
C)Examining the dates of the studies to look for temporal precedence
D)Replicating all of the original studies

Question 24

Which of the following is true of multiple regression?

A)It can control for all third variables, including those that are not measured.
B)Adding more predictors means research is controlling for more variables.
C)There is a limit to the number of predictors that can be statistically significant.
D)There is a limit to the number of predictors that can be included in a regression.

Question 25

In understanding "controlling for" a third variable, which of the following is a similar concept?

A)Creating a longitudinal study
B)Identifying subgroups
C)Creating an operational definition
D)Conducting a replication

Question 26

RESEARCH STUDY 9.3: Dr. Cheong is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes). His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, he is curious as to whether the effect of emotional well-being occurs because people receive different levels of social support. He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by Hurricane Sandy (2012) to report on how their well-being was affected by the hurricane, the social support felt after the storm, and the number of PTSD symptoms. Dr. Cheong finds support for his proposed relationship. However, in examining his data more closely, he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women.
Dr) Cheong's finding that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women suggests which of the following?

A)Participant sex is a moderating variable.
B)Participant sex is a mediating variable.
C)Emotional well-being is a moderating variable.
D)Emotional well-being is a mediating variable.

Question 27

RESEARCH STUDY 9.2: Dr. Finkel is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships. Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g., Dakin & Wampler, 2012). Dr. Finkel is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables, such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction. He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level, so he decides to use a multivariate design. He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction) can explain the relationship. He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center. Below are his results.

Which of the following is NOT a predictor variable in Dr. Finkel's study?

A)Marital satisfaction
B)Life satisfaction
C)Income
D)Number of arguments

Question 28

RESEARCH STUDY 9.2: Dr. Finkel is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships. Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g., Dakin & Wampler, 2012). Dr. Finkel is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables, such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction. He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level, so he decides to use a multivariate design. He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction) can explain the relationship. He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center. Below are his results.

Which of the following can be concluded based on the results of Dr. Finkel's study?

A)As the number of arguments a couple has increases, their marital satisfaction increases as well, controlling for income but not life satisfaction.
B)The relationship between life satisfaction and marital satisfaction has the weakest effect size of all of the results.
C)The beta for the relationship between life satisfaction and marital satisfaction is significantly different than zero.
D)Income is a stronger predictor of martial satisfaction than either the number of arguments or life satisfaction.

Question 29

Why is the statistical validity of a multiple regression design more complicated to interrogate than a bivariate design?

A)Statistical significance of associations cannot be determined.
B)Betas and rs share no similarities.
C)These designs require more participants.
D)It is harder to detect outliers.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT true of third variables and mediating variables?

A)Third variables are external to the causal variable, but mediating variables are internal to the causal variable.
B)Third variables are considered nuisances, but mediating variables are not.
C)Third variables can be detected using multiple regression techniques, but mediating variables cannot.
D)Third variables are not usually of central interest to researchers, but mediating variables are.

Question 31

If a researcher is asking why the relationship between two variables exists, she is curious about which of the following?

A)Moderation
B)Mediation
C)Third variables
D)Controlling variables

Question 32

When determining mediation, how many steps are necessary?

A)Two
B)Three
C)Four
D)Five

Question 33

Which popular media headline does NOT suggest that a multiple regression has been used?

A)"Dog ownership decreases stress."
B)"After taking into account job experience, people who are happier with their jobs report greater productivity."
C)"After correcting for several factors that affect memory, including intelligence, researchers found that people who read more frequently remember 12% more about a crime scene than those who don't read frequently."
D)"The link between traumatic experience and the development of anxiety symptoms existed even when controlling for the effect of parental anxiety."

Question 34

All of the following are true of betas and correlation coefficients EXCEPT:

A)Betas describe the relationship between two variables exactly as correlations coefficients do.
B)Both betas and correlation coefficients can tell you something about the strength of a relationship.
C)Both betas and correlation coefficients can tell you something about the direction of a relationship.
D)Betas from an analysis can be compared with other beta coefficients from the same analysis just as correlation coefficients can.

Question 35

RESEARCH STUDY 9.2: Dr. Finkel is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships. Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g., Dakin & Wampler, 2012). Dr. Finkel is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables, such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction. He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level, so he decides to use a multivariate design. He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction) can explain the relationship. He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center. Below are his results.

Given Dr. Finkel's design, which of the following issues is his study best able to address?

A)The ethical issue of manipulating income level
B)The issue of temporal precedence between his two variables
C)The issue of possible third variables
D)The issue of diminished statistical validity

Question 36

RESEARCH STUDY 9.2: Dr. Finkel is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships. Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g., Dakin & Wampler, 2012). Dr. Finkel is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables, such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction. He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level, so he decides to use a multivariate design. He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction) can explain the relationship. He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center. Below are his results.

Which of the following is a criterion variable in Dr. Finkel's study?

A)Marital satisfaction
B)Life satisfaction
C)Income
D)Number of arguments

Question 37

In a multiple regression design, variable is to dependent variable as variable is to independent variable.

A)criterion; predictor
B)manipulated; measured
C)control; mediator
D)bivariate; multivariate

Question 38

The pattern and parsimony approach to causation is a good example of which cycle in research?

A)Journal-journalism cycle
B)Basic-applied cycle
C)Theory-data cycle
D)Peer-review cycle

Question 39

Which of the following is a reason why multiple regression designs are inferior to experimental designs?

A)They can only control for third variables that are measured.
B)They cannot establish covariance.
C)They take longer to conduct.
D)They are more expensive to conduct.

Question 40

Which popular media headline might suggest that a multiple regression has been used?

A)"Pet ownership is an important predictor of well-being in elderly adults."
B)"Daughters are happier when their mothers are happy working outside the home."
C)"Eating lunch away from your desk is associated with greater work productivity."
D)"Vacations are important for happiness, even when length of vacation is controlled for."

Question 41

How do multiple regression designs help rule out third variables?

Question 42

When examining the results of a multiple regression, which of the following should be compared to determine which predictor variables have the largest relationship to the criterion variable?

A)b values
B)Beta values
C)Significance values
D)Effect sizes

Question 43

RESEARCH STUDY 9.4: Dr. O'Toole is a counseling psychologist who researches family dynamics. He is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the amount of time families spend together on vacation and children's happiness. More specifically, he thinks that spending more time together as a family on vacation causes children to be happier. He designs a study where he samples 63 single-child families in December 2012 and measures how many days the family spent on vacation in the past year as well as the child's happiness. He then contacts the same families in December 2016 and measures those two variables again. The results of his study are below.


Describe what makes Dr. O'Toole's study (1) a longitudinal study and (2) a multivariate correlational study.

Question 44

Why should journalists report on the previous body of research when writing about a newly published scientific study?

A)To highlight pattern and parsimony in scientific research
B)To demonstrate that they have a background in science
C)To make it easier for their readers to determine that the story is credible
D)To prove to their editors that readers will be interested in the story

Question 45

The degree to which a good scientific theory provides the simplest explanation of some phenomenon is known as .

A)minimalism
B)pretentiousness
C)parsimony
D)density

Question 46

A criterion variable is also known as a(n) variable.

A)predictor
B)independent
C)control
D)dependent

Question 47

Why is it problematic when journalists only report on a single study?

A)It can make journalists look bad.
B)It can lead people to think journalists are scientists.
C)It can lead people to value one study over decades of previous research.
D)It can cause people to interrogate a study's validities.

Question 48

Adding several variables to a regression analysis can help do which of the following?

A)Increase the statistical significance of the results
B)Control for several variables at once
C)Increase the construct validity of a study
D)Meet the temporal precedence criterion for causal inference

Question 49

RESEARCH STUDY 9.4: Dr. O'Toole is a counseling psychologist who researches family dynamics. He is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the amount of time families spend together on vacation and children's happiness. More specifically, he thinks that spending more time together as a family on vacation causes children to be happier. He designs a study where he samples 63 single-child families in December 2012 and measures how many days the family spent on vacation in the past year as well as the child's happiness. He then contacts the same families in December 2016 and measures those two variables again. The results of his study are below.


There are three types of correlations discussed in longitudinal designs. From Dr. O'Toole's study, provide an example of each of the following: a cross-sectional correlation, an autocorrelation, and a cross-lag correlation. Make sure you use the variable names and not just the correlation numbers (e.g., the correlation between 2012 vacation days and 2012 child happiness).

Question 50

RESEARCH STUDY 9.5: Dr. Nguyen is a psychologist who studies legal decision making. Specifically, he is curious about the factors that are irrelevant to the crime committed that influence the sentences juries give to defendants (known as extra-legal factors). To study this further, he samples a group of jury-eligible adults from the Memphis area. He provides them with the fact pattern to a particular case and allows them to watch the closing statements from the trial. He then asks them to provide a sentence (in months) for the defendant. In addition, he measures two legal factors (the number of arguments made by the prosecuting attorney and the length of time the defense attorney speaks during his or her closing argument) and two extra-legal factors (how attractive the participants think the defendant is [higher scores indicate higher ratings of attractiveness] and how many legal televisions shows the participants watch). The data are below.

Explain whether Dr. Nguyen is correct in thinking that extra-legal factors are more important in legal decision making than legal factors.

Question 51

Which of the following words/symbols would indicate that you are reading results from a multiple-regression analysis?

A)b
B)Sig
C)r
D)d

Question 52

RESEARCH STUDY 9.5: Dr. Nguyen is a psychologist who studies legal decision making. Specifically, he is curious about the factors that are irrelevant to the crime committed that influence the sentences juries give to defendants (known as extra-legal factors). To study this further, he samples a group of jury-eligible adults from the Memphis area. He provides them with the fact pattern to a particular case and allows them to watch the closing statements from the trial. He then asks them to provide a sentence (in months) for the defendant. In addition, he measures two legal factors (the number of arguments made by the prosecuting attorney and the length of time the defense attorney speaks during his or her closing argument) and two extra-legal factors (how attractive the participants think the defendant is [higher scores indicate higher ratings of attractiveness] and how many legal televisions shows the participants watch). The data are below.

Choose one of the variables in Dr. Nguyen's study. Explain how this variable relates to criminal sentencing, considering direction of the effect, statistical significance, and strength of relationship compared with the other variables.

Question 53

RESEARCH STUDY 9.5: Dr. Nguyen is a psychologist who studies legal decision making. Specifically, he is curious about the factors that are irrelevant to the crime committed that influence the sentences juries give to defendants (known as extra-legal factors). To study this further, he samples a group of jury-eligible adults from the Memphis area. He provides them with the fact pattern to a particular case and allows them to watch the closing statements from the trial. He then asks them to provide a sentence (in months) for the defendant. In addition, he measures two legal factors (the number of arguments made by the prosecuting attorney and the length of time the defense attorney speaks during his or her closing argument) and two extra-legal factors (how attractive the participants think the defendant is [higher scores indicate higher ratings of attractiveness] and how many legal television shows the participants watch). The data are below.

List the predictor and dependent/criterion variables in Dr. Nguyen's study.

Question 54

If an experiment cannot be done for practical or ethical reasons related to manipulating the variable of interest, which of the following events should happen?

A)The study should not be conducted at all.
B)The researchers should wait until the experiment can be done.
C)A longitudinal correlational design could be done instead.
D)The IRB can grant a waiver of review to conduct the study anyway.

Question 55

Why would a researcher interested in making a causal claim NOT do an experiment?

A)Experiments are very expensive and the researcher might not have grant funding.
B)There may be ethical limitations of manipulating a variable.
C)Laboratory space is required for experiments and the researcher might not have a lab.
D)Experiments take longer to do than other types of studies.

Question 56

Such topics as the link between media and aggression and smoking and lung cancer have been studied with a variety of methods and by a variety of researchers and have all reached similar conclusions. This is an example of which of the following?

A)Hypothesis generation
B)Third variable problems
C)Multiple-regression designs
D)Pattern and parsimony

Question 57

RESEARCH STUDY 9.5: Dr. Nguyen is a psychologist who studies legal decision making. Specifically, he is curious about the factors that are irrelevant to the crime committed that influence the sentences juries give to defendants (known as extra-legal factors). To study this further, he samples a group of jury-eligible adults from the Memphis area. He provides them with the fact pattern to a particular case and allows them to watch the closing statements from the trial. He then asks them to provide a sentence (in months) for the defendant. In addition, he measures two legal factors (the number of arguments made by the prosecuting attorney and the length of time the defense attorney speaks during his or her closing argument) and two extra-legal factors (how attractive the participants think the defendant is [higher scores indicate higher ratings of attractiveness] and how many legal televisions shows the participants watch). The data are below.

Explain whether Dr. Nguyen could conduct an experiment instead of a multiple regression design. Regardless, why would an experiment be better than his current study?

Question 58

Explain why longitudinal designs can help researchers make causal statements. If a researcher is hoping to make a causal statement, why would a researcher use a longitudinal design instead of an experimental design?

Question 59

Explain the value of pattern and parsimony in attempting to establish causal links in correlational findings.

Question 60

RESEARCH STUDY 9.4: Dr. O'Toole is a counseling psychologist who researches family dynamics. He is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the amount of time families spend together on vacation and children's happiness. More specifically, he thinks that spending more time together as a family on vacation causes children to be happier. He designs a study where he samples 63 single-child families in December 2012 and measures how many days the family spent on vacation in the past year as well as the child's happiness. He then contacts the same families in December 2016 and measures those two variables again. The results of his study are below.


There are three possible causal patterns that can be found in a study like Dr. O'Toole's. Choose one causal pattern and explain which correlations need to be significant, which ones should not be significant, and what type of causal claim can be made. Make sure you use the variable names and not just the correlation numbers (e.g., Correlation 1).

Question 61

Explain what it means that third variables are "external" to the causal variable and mediators are "internal" to the causal variable.

Question 62

RESEARCH STUDY 9.6: Dr. Cheong is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes). His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, he is curious as to whether the effect of emotional well-being occurs because people receive different levels of social support. He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by Hurricane Sandy (2012) to report on how their well-being was affected by the hurricane, the social support felt after the storm, and the number of PTSD symptoms. Dr. Cheong finds support for his proposed relationship. However, in examining his data more closely, he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women.
State Dr. Cheong's hypothesis and sketch a diagram of this hypothesized relationship.

Question 63

RESEARCH STUDY 9.6: Dr. Cheong is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes). His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, he is curious as to whether the effect of emotional well-being occurs because people receive different levels of social support. He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by Hurricane Sandy (2012) to report on how their well-being was affected by the hurricane, the social support felt after the storm, and the number of PTSD symptoms. Dr. Cheong finds support for his proposed relationship. However, in examining his data more closely, he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women.
Using Dr. Cheong's study, explain the steps he would go through to examine whether there was support for his mediation hypothesis.

Question 64

RESEARCH STUDY 9.6: Dr. Cheong is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes). His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, he is curious as to whether the effect of emotional well-being occurs because people receive different levels of social support. He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by Hurricane Sandy (2012) to report on how their well-being was affected by the hurricane, the social support felt after the storm, and the number of PTSD symptoms. Dr. Cheong finds support for his proposed relationship. However, in examining his data more closely, he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women.
Using Dr. Cheong's study, identify a mediating variable and a moderating variable and explain the difference between the two types of variables.

Question 65

Name two consequences of journalists reporting on single studies rather than reporting on patterns of data.