Question 1

If you know that achievement is positively correlated with life satisfaction, then you can conclude that ____.

Accepted Answer

The positive correlation between achievement and life satisfaction means that as achievement increases, happiness also increases. However, it does not necessarily mean that achievement causes life satisfaction or vice versa. Also, the existence of a third variable cannot be assumed without further evidence. The significance of the relationship between the two variables is also not indicated.

Question 2

Polls that use large random samples yield very accurate predictions.Since 1936, Gallup poll results taken just before US national election days have diverged from actual election results by an average of only about _____.

Accepted Answer

The question states that large random samples yield very accurate predictions and mentions the specific example of Gallup polls taken before US national elections. It then provides the average divergence between those poll results and actual election results, which is only about 2%. Therefore, the best choice is A, which matches this average divergence.

Question 3

Jermina is interested in the effects of gender on aggression.She collects all the studies she can find that have been conducted on this topic, and averages their results to generate a big picture of what the findings in that area reveal.Jermina has conducted a ____.

Accepted Answer

Jermina has conducted a meta-analysis, which involves analyzing the results of multiple studies on the same topic to draw a general conclusion.

Question 4

Dr Hadebe and Dr Naidoo have recently conducted a study and found a positive correlation between music-listening and dancing ability: people who listen to lots of music tend to be excellent dancers.The correlation is statistically significant.Can they conclude that listening to music causes people to be better dancers? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The study only found a correlation between music-listening and dancing ability, but did not manipulate any variables to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that listening to music causes people to be better dancers. Correlation does not equal causation. Option A and B are incorrect because statistical significance and a positive correlation do not necessarily indicate causation. Option D is also incorrect because the study did not mention deaf individuals or their ability to dance.

Question 5

Compared to true experiments, MOST correlational studies are low in ____.

Accepted Answer

Correlational studies are low in internal validity because they cannot establish causality between variables since they only measure the strength and direction of the relationship between them. In true experiments, manipulation of the independent variable allows for establishing causality and internal validity.

Question 6

Correlation coefficients are statistics used to denote ____.

Accepted Answer

Correlation coefficients are used to indicate the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

Question 7

There is a moderately strong, positive relationship between different forms of prejudice: people who are prejudiced against Group X also tend to be prejudiced against Group Y.Given this information, we should expect the correlation between anti-Jewish prejudice and anti-Asian prejudice to be about ____.

Accepted Answer

Since there is a moderately strong, positive relationship between different forms of prejudice, we can expect a positive correlation between anti-Jewish prejudice and anti-Asian prejudice. The best choice among the given options is B) 0.4, as it represents a moderate positive correlation. Option A) 0.04 and option C) 4.0 indicate a weak positive correlation or a strong positive correlation respectively, which may not be realistic based on the information given. Option D) 40 is an extremely high value, which is not possible for a correlation coefficient, as its range is between -1 to +1.

Question 8

Zandile's research interest is to determine if poverty causes one to be more politically liberal.However, he cannot randomly assign people to conditions of poverty versus wealth because (aside from the practical difficulty) it would be unethical to do so.Zandile will have to ____.

Accepted Answer

Since Zandile cannot randomly assign people to conditions of poverty versus wealth, the best option would be for him to take a correlational approach. He can examine the relationship between poverty levels and political ideology in his sample of participants. However, it's important to note that correlation does not equal causation, so Zandile must be cautious when interpreting the results of his study.

Question 9

In survey research, the total number of people under consideration is called the ____.

Accepted Answer

The total number of people under consideration in survey research is referred to as the population. The population is the group of individuals or items that the researcher wants to study and draw conclusions about. The sample is a subset of the population that is actually studied, while a cohort refers to a group of individuals who share a common experience or characteristic, and a frame is a list or directory of the individuals or items in the population from which the sample is drawn.

Question 10

You notice a headline that proclaims that over 68% of convicted male rapists viewed pornography before the age of 17.What can you conclude from this?

Accepted Answer

The headline only provides information about a correlation between viewing pornography and male rapists, but it does not provide a comparison with the general population or male non-rapists who viewed pornography before the age of 17. Therefore, nothing can be definitively concluded without further data and analysis.

Question 11

A random sample of 1 200 can give results that are ____ accurate.

Accepted Answer

A random sample of 1,200 is large enough to provide results within a 95% confidence interval, meaning that the results should be accurate within plus or minus 3% of the true population parameter. This assumes that the sample is truly random and representative of the population.

Question 12

A correlation coefficient communicates two pieces of information about the relationship between two variables: The ____ communicates the direction of the relationship, and the ____ communicates the strength of the relationship.

Accepted Answer

The sign (+ or -) of the correlation coefficient indicates the direction of the relationship (positive or negative), while the value (ranging from -1 to +1) represents the strength of the relationship.

Question 13

Psychologists typically use a statistic called ____ to denote the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient is the best choice as it is commonly used by psychologists to indicate how closely two variables are related and the direction of that relationship. It ranges from -1 (perfect negative correlation) to +1 (perfect positive correlation), with 0 indicating no correlation.

Question 14

Correlation coefficients are used to describe the relationship between two variables.They are usually denoted using the letter ____.

Accepted Answer

Correlation coefficients are typically denoted by the letter "r" in statistics.

Question 15

The main weakness with correlational research (as opposed to experimental research) is that ____.

Accepted Answer

Correlational research only shows a relationship between variables and does not allow for the manipulation of an independent variable, making it impossible to determine cause and effect.

Question 16

If a study is high in external validity, then ____.

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to other people and other settings. Therefore, if a study is high in external validity, the findings are likely to generalise to other people and other settings. Choices B, C, and D refer to other aspects of a study, but are not related to external validity.

Question 17

A literature review that averages together the statistical results from different studies conducted on the same topic is called a ____.

Accepted Answer

A meta-analysis is a research method that involves averaging together the statistical results from multiple studies on the same topic to draw conclusions about the overall findings. This method allows researchers to identify patterns or consistencies across studies and provides a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between variables. Option A, factorial design, is a research method that involves manipulating two or more independent variables to examine their effects on a dependent variable. Option C, replication, involves repeating a study with the same methods to see if the results can be reproduced. Option D, correlational approach, is a research method that examines the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating them.

Question 18

Suppose that you are interested in knowing whether there are gender differences in suicide (i.e., whether one gender commits suicide more frequently than the other).The only way to study this precise question would be to conduct ____.

Accepted Answer

Since the question is about a difference in suicide rates between genders, it is not ethical or feasible to conduct a true experiment where individuals are randomly assigned to a condition. Instead, the best option is to use correlational research and examine existing data on suicide rates among different genders.

Question 19

Suppose that there is a perfect negative correlation between the amount of money that Jane spends and the amount of money that she has in her bank account: for every rand that she spends, she has exactly one less rand in her rand account (assuming no interest, fees, or credits).Thus the correlation between Jane's spending and savings can be represented as ____.

Accepted Answer

A perfect negative correlation between two variables is represented by a correlation coefficient of -1.00.

Question 20

When there is no relationship between two variables, the correlation coefficient is ____.

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient of 0 indicates no relationship between the two variables. A coefficient of -1 or +1 indicates a perfect negative or positive relationship, respectively. A coefficient of -100 is not a valid option as correlation coefficients are bounded between -1 and +1.

Quiz 1: The Mission and the Method