Dr. Fletcher is interested in whether joining a fraternity/sorority causes people to become more concerned about their attractiveness and appearance. He recruits a group of 55 freshmen (25 males, 30 females) who are planning to go through fraternity/sorority recruitment on his campus. After they join, he gives them a measure of attractiveness concern/appearance concern (the Body Concern Scale).
Suppose Dr. Fletcher was concerned that students who choose to join fraternities/sororities are more concerned with their appearance overall. How could he test whether this type of selection threat exists?
A)Collect appearance concerns at more time points throughout the year from his subjects.
B)Compare baseline levels of appearance concerns in fraternity/sorority students versus the average college student.
C)Check that none of his participants had exceptionally high levels of appearance concerns at the beginning of his study.
D)Examine whether any events occurred on campus that year that may influence appearance concerns for all students.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

By comparing baseline levels of appearance concerns in fraternity/sorority students to the average college student, Dr. Fletcher can determine if there is a selection threat. If fraternity/sorority students have higher levels of appearance concerns than the general college population, this would suggest that selection bias exists. If they do not have significantly higher levels, then it would be more likely that joining a fraternity/sorority causes an increase in appearance concerns. Collecting appearance concerns at more time points throughout the year from his subjects or checking that none of his participants had exceptionally high levels of appearance concerns at the beginning of his study would not address selection bias. Examining events on campus that may influence appearance concerns for all students would not specifically address fraternity/sorority selection.

Dr Fletcher Is Interested in Whether Joining a Fraternity/sorority Causes