Deck 1: Displaying the Order in a Group of Numbers Using Tables and Graphs

Question 1

A researcher wishing to summarize all the scores for a variable in a study creates a frequency table, but finds that there are so many values that the table is too cumbersome to be useful. The next step would be to make a:

A)histogram
B)frequency polygon
C)grouped frequency table
D)pie chart

Answer 1

grouped frequency table

Question 2

A psychologist is interested in studying aggressive tendencies in people and develops a measure of this personality characteristic. Aggression has become a(n)__________ in the psychologist's study.

A)abstract concept
B)variable
C)value
D)invariable construct

Answer 2

variable

Question 3

When making a frequency table for a numeric variable, the list down the left edge of the page should include:

A)all possible values, starting from the highest and ending with the lowest
B)only even-numbered values
C)only odd-numbered values
D)the cumulative frequencies and percentages for female participants

Answer 3

all possible values, starting from the highest and ending with the lowest

Question 4

The word "frequency" in a frequency table refers to:

A)cycles per second
B)the number of scores at each value of a variable
C)the times per unit change of each score
D)the cumulative percentage for any given value

Question 5

An education researcher collects data on how many students are on scholarship at various local colleges. The researcher then makes a frequency table to summarize the data. The researcher is using a(n):

A)measure of central tendency
B)descriptive statistical method
C)intuitive statistical method
D)inferential statistical method

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of an equal-interval variable?

A)Marital status of a person (single, divorced, etc.)
B)Number of friends a person has (2, 4, etc.)
C)Results of a horse race (arrived 1st, 2nd, etc.)
D)Numbers printed on the back of a basketball team's jerseys (21, 43, etc.)

Question 7

Several employees of a major corporation are rated for their degree of job satisfaction. If a particular employee's job satisfaction is rated 8 on a 20-point scale, 8 represents that employee's:

A)frequency
B)variable
C)score
D)percentile

Question 8

A student theorizes that performance on a statistics exam will be related to the number of hours she spent studying. This student will be required to use __________ to test her theory.

A)common sense
B)reasoning by analogy
C)inferential statistics
D)intuition

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an example of a nominal variable?

A)Hair color
B)Religious affiliation
C)Social Security number
D)Score on an IQ test

Question 10

Numeric variables are also called:

A)nominal variables
B)categorical variables
C)quantitative variables
D)irrelevant variables

Question 11

A frequency table lists:

A)the times per second that variations occur in various wave bands
B)the number of scores at each value
C)the intensity of a variable over all the participants studied
D)the average and median values of each variable

Question 12

A frequency table includes columns for all of the following EXCEPT:

A)the number of ratings for each value on a scale
B)the frequency of scores at each value
C)the percentage of scores for each value
D)the standard deviation of the measurement scale

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of a nominal variable?

A)Grade point average (3.2, 2.7, etc.)
B)Number of friends a person has (0, 1, etc.)
C)Birth position in a family (first, second, etc.)
D)Nationality of the car a person owns (American, Japanese, etc.)

Question 14

When making a frequency table for a nominal variable, the values listed on the left-hand side of the frequency table should be:

A)the percent correct
B)the number of social interactions per week
C)the categories of the variable
D)the appropriate interval groupings

Question 15

The value of putting numbers into a frequency table is that:

A)it makes the pattern of numbers clear at a glance
B)it enables you to draw inferences from the table
C)frequency tables are required by many journals
D)all of the above

Question 16

The difference between scores of 3 and 4 is approximately the same as the difference between scores of 15 and 16, the type of variable known as:

A)equal interval
B)differential
C)nondifferential
D)rank-order

Question 17

All of the following are examples of rank-order variables EXCEPT:

A)a student's rank in his or her graduating class
B)a tennis player's standing compared to other athletes in the region
C)a runner's place finished in a race
D)a student's level of stress just before an exam

Question 18

An intelligence test includes 15 items. Thus, a person could get any number correct between 0 and 15. Each of these numbers correct (0-15)that a person could possibly get is called a:

A)value
B)variable
C)frequency
D)mean

Question 19

The two main branches of statistical methods are:

A)theoretical and inferential
B)intuitive and observational
C)descriptive and intuitive
D)descriptive and inferential

Question 20

A researcher measures the eye movements of 100 participants as they read ambiguous words embedded within sentences. Because eye movements are measured in milliseconds, and there are likely to be many different times measured, the researcher decides to use a __________ to help make sense of these data.

A)frequency polygraph
B)scatterplot
C)grouped frequency table
D)horizontal bar chart

Question 21

When making a histogram, it is easiest if you begin with a:

A)list of all the scores in order
B)frequency table
C)list all of the percentages in order
D)normal curve table

Question 22

A histogram looks most like:

A)the skyline of a city
B)a large wave
C)a silhouette of mountains
D)a pattern of iron filings

Question 23

In a histogram, the vertical (up and down)dimension displays:

A)possible values the variable can have
B)intensity of the variable
C)mean score
D)frequency

Question 24

A frequency polygon looks most like:

A)the skyline of a city
B)a large wave
C)a silhouette of mountains
D)a series of intersecting shapes

Question 25

Consider the scores 2, 6, 7, 1, 7, 8, 5, 4. Which of the following would be the correct second line of the frequency table?

A)2, 7, 20%
B)7, 2, 25%
C)6, 1, 6%
D)1, 1, 12%

Question 26

An important difference between a histogram and a frequency polygon is that the frequency polygon:

A)is used for grouped values
B)begins and ends with a frequency of 10 (i.e., at the y-axis)
C)covers the full range of values
D)begins and ends with a frequency of zero (i.e., at the horizontal axis)

Question 27

When a distribution is skewed to the right, it means that:

A)there are more scores piled up at the high end of the range
B)the scores are evenly distributed
C)there are more scores piled up at the low end of the range
D)there is a ceiling effect

Question 28

When working with a nominal variable, the histogram is called a(n):

A)bar graph
B)frequency polygon
C)area plot
D)bubble plot

Question 29

A researcher rates participants' empathic responses to the distress of strangers on a scale of 1 to 10. Most participants were rated either 3 or 7. How would this distribution be described?

A)Bimodal
B)Unimodal
C)Rectangular
D)Normal

Question 30

If all the values in a distribution have about the same frequency, it is called a(n):

A)multimodal distribution
B)rectangular distribution
C)bimodal distribution
D)equalized distribution

Question 31

Consider the scores 1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8. Which of the following would be the correct top line of a frequency table?

A)3, 2, 20%
B)10, 10, 100%
C)0, 2, 25%
D)8, 1, 10%

Question 32

On the first exam in an introductory statistics class most students did very well and only a few did poorly. How would you describe the distribution of test scores?

A)Symmetrical
B)Skewed to the left
C)Having a floor effect
D)Skewed to the right

Question 33

Why might a frequency polygon include an extra value at the start and end along the bottom?

A)To illustrate the bimodal distribution of the data
B)To highlight the value with the largest frequency
C)To make a closed figure (i.e., polygon)
D)To construct a rectangular distribution

Question 34

The distribution of scores in a research study in the behavioral and social sciences is usually:

A)unimodal
B)bimodal
C)multimodal
D)rectangular

Question 35

Place the five steps for making a frequency polygon into the correct order: 1. Along the left side of the page (y-axis), make a scale of frequencies that ranges from 0 at the bottom to the highest frequency for any value.
2) Connect the points with lines.
3) Make a frequency table.
4) Mark a point above each value with a height for the frequency of that value.
5) Put the values along the bottom of the page (x-axis).

A)3, 5, 1, 4, 2
B)2, 3, 1, 4, 5
C)5, 3, 1, 2, 3
D)3, 5, 1, 2, 4

Question 36

Social scientists use frequency tables, histograms, or frequency polygons to show:

A)the relation between two variables
B)the reasoning behind experiments
C)specific hypotheses and test their validity
D)how the data they collect are distributed

Question 37

In a histogram, the horizontal dimension displays a:

A)range of possible values the variable can have
B)percentile score for each individual
C)mean score
D)frequency

Question 38

When a distribution is skewed to the left, it is likely that:

A)there is a floor effect
B)there are more scores piled up at the low end of the range
C)the distribution is approximately normal and symmetrical
D)there is a ceiling effect

Question 39

On an exam in a cognitive psychology class, most students attained a perfect score. This is an example of:

A)a symmetrical distribution
B)a bimodal distribution
C)a ceiling effect
D)a floor effect

Question 40

A histogram is most closely related to which of the following?

A)Pie chart
B)Line plot
C)Contour plot
D)Bar chart

Question 41

Researchers use __________ to draw statistical conclusions that go beyond the numbers actually collected in the research.

Question 42

When making a frequency table, the values are listed in the first column and the __________ for each value is listed in the second column.

Question 43

The third column of a frequency table usually contains __________.

Question 44

A test of social skills is administered to all professors at a local college. The __________ of a particular professor is 81.

Question 45

Equal-interval and rank-order variables are both __________ variables.

Question 46

If you suffer from test anxiety, some useful advice is to:

A)overprepare for tests (at least at first)
B)learn methods to breathe properly and deeply
C)create a practice test situation that is similar to the real test
D)all of the above

Question 47

According to the table, what is the total number of patients in this sample who suffer from motor problems?

A)20/200
B)40
C)40/N
D)64

Question 48

Another name for an ordinal variable is a(n)__________ variable.

Question 49

When a distribution is heavy-tailed it means that:

A)it has a flat appearance with many scores at the extremes (tails)
B)it is skewed to the right
C)it is skewed to the left
D)it has a pinched appearance with few scores at the extremes (tails)

Question 50

A listing that shows how many times each value of a variable occurs among a particular group of scores is called a(n)__________.

Question 51

A frequency table is most likely to be included in a research article when:

A)nominal variables are involved
B)there are a very small number of scores
C)a correlation is being reported
D)there are only two values for the variable

Question 52

A business researcher set up a __________ that lists the number of employees for each level of earnings, from the level of $80,000-99,999, going down to the level of $20,000-29,999.

Question 53

On a measure of social skills, the difference between scores of 6 and 7 has the same meaning as a difference between scores of 25 and 26. This measure is considered a(n)__________ variable.

Question 54

Which of the following is supported by research cited in your text?

A)Women generally do worse in statistics classes because they have lower expectations for themselves.
B)Women tend to do worse in statistics because others have lower expectations of them.
C)Women tend to do worse in statistics because instructors generally call on them less often.
D)Women generally do as well as men in statistics classes.

Question 55

Research by Wolf, Van Doorn, and Weissing (2008)indicates that high sensitivity, reactivity, or responsiveness:

A)are innate traits found in about 15-20% of humans
B)are related to a tendency to reflect before acting, rather than rushing into things
C)are related to a tendency to have strong emotional reactions to events
D)all of the above

Question 56

According to the table, what is the most common types of cognitive problem faced by Alzheimer's disease patients?

A)Motor problems
B)Language problems
C)Memory problems
D)Attentional problems

Question 57

In some cases, researchers describe a distribution in terms of whether its tails have many or few scores in them. This aspect of the shape of a distribution is known as:

A)symmetry
B)kurtosis
C)z-transformation
D)queue

Question 58

In a study of hospitalized psychiatric patients, the __________ of interest is how well the patients can take care of their rooms, as rated by the nurses on a scale of 0 to 7.

Question 59

The type of transportation a person uses to get to work (e.g., car, bus)is an example of a(n)__________ variable.

Question 60

Social scientists use __________ to summarize and make understandable a group of numbers collected in a research study.

Question 61

The histogram of a(n)__________ distribution has one of the bars higher than all the others.

Question 62

A distribution in which the scores pile up on one end and are spread out on the other end is an example of a(n)__________ distribution.

Question 63

The distribution of data collected in behavioral and social science research studies often approximates a(n)__________.

Question 64

The number of times the various numbers on a roulette wheel come up, in the long run, form a(n)__________ frequency distribution.

Question 65

A distribution is called __________ when the pattern of frequencies on the left and right side are mirror images of each other.

Question 66

A drawback associated with the use of grouped frequency tables is that you lose information about the breakdown of frequencies within each interval. (True or False)

Question 67

A way to simplify a frequency table when there are a large number of possible values is to group the scores into __________.

Question 68

A rectangular distribution, in addition to being symmetrical, would be an example of a(n): __________.

Question 69

Frequency tables can be used for numerical but not nominal variables. (True or False)

Question 70

On a particular test of reading ability (in which high scores mean high reading ability), the distribution of adults is skewed to the __________ because most adults have fairly good reading ability, but a small number of people are nearly illiterate.

Question 71

A frequency table, histogram, or frequency polygon describes a(n)__________.

Question 72

In a study of exercise behavior, a researcher found that the shape of the distribution of the number of hours exercised was __________ because one large group of people did not exercise at all while another large group all exercised approximately hours per week.