Question 1

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 of the correlation coefficient communicates the direction of the relationship, while the value communicates the strength of the relationship.

Question 2

Dr. Hurtado and Dr. Yashari 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 evidence from the study is correlational, meaning that there is a relationship between music-listening and dancing ability, but it does not prove causation. To establish causation, an experimental study would need to be conducted where the researchers manipulate music-listening habits and measure their effect on dancing ability. The statistically significant correlation only shows that there is a consistent association between the two variables, but it does not prove that one variable causes the other. Therefore, choice C is correct. Choice A is incorrect because a positive correlation does not necessarily indicate causation. Choice B is incorrect because statistical significance only reflects the strength of the relationship, not causation. Choice D is irrelevant to the question and is an arbitrary factor that is not mentioned in the study.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

Correlational studies cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships, therefore they are low in internal validity.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient of 0 indicates that there is no linear relationship between the two variables being analyzed.

Question 5

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

The question tells us that there is a moderately strong, positive relationship between different forms of prejudice, which means that if someone is prejudiced against one group, they are likely to be prejudiced against another group as well. Therefore, we can expect a correlation between anti-Jewish prejudice and anti-Asian prejudice to be moderately strong, but not very strong. A correlation of 0.4 (Choice B) would represent a moderately strong relationship, while 0.04 (Choice A) would be a weaker relationship. Choices C and D are much too high, which would indicate an extremely strong relationship, which is unlikely in this case.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

Correlation coefficients are commonly denoted using the letter "r". The other options (A) n represents sample size, (B) p represents probability, and (D) q does not have any relevance in correlation analysis.

Question 7

The Literary Digest poll that predicted Alf Landon would resoundingly win the presidential election when, in fact, Franklin Roosevelt won, was flawed by ____.

Accepted Answer

The Literary Digest poll was flawed by a non-random sample. The poll only reached out to subscribers, motorists, and telephone users, leaving out a large portion of the population that supported Roosevelt. Therefore, the sample was not representative of the general population and the results were inaccurate.

Question 8

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

Without a comparison group of non-rapists who viewed pornography before the age of 17, it is impossible to draw a causal relationship between viewing pornography and committing sexual violence. It may be that many people view pornography before the age of 17 and do not commit sexual violence. Therefore, nothing can be definitively concluded from this statistic without further data analysis.

Question 9

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 involves taking the results from multiple studies on a particular topic and combining them to determine an overall effect size. This allows for greater statistical power and can help to identify patterns and inconsistencies across studies.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

Gallup polls have historically been quite accurate, with an average divergence of about 2% from actual election results since 1936.

Question 11

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 dollar that she spends, she has exactly one less dollar in her bank account (assuming no interest, fees, or credits). Thus the correlation between Jane's spending and savings can be represented as ____.

Accepted Answer

The perfect negative correlation between Jane's spending and savings means that every time she spends a dollar, her savings decrease by a dollar. This can be represented by a correlation coefficient of -1.00, indicating a perfect negative linear relationship between the two variables. Thus, the best choice is B.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

A positive correlation between achievement and life satisfaction means that as achievement increases, happiness also increases. It does not necessarily mean that achievement causes life satisfaction or vice versa (choice A), nor does it necessarily require the presence of a third variable (choice B) or statistical significance (choice D). Therefore, the best answer is C.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

The population refers to the total number of people that a study is trying to investigate or draw conclusions about. The sample is a subset of the population that is actually studied. The cohort refers to a group of individuals who share a common characteristic such as age or occupation. The frame is a list of individuals from which the sample is selected. Therefore, the correct answer is C.

Question 14

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. They measure how closely two variables move together, and if they move in the same or opposite direction.

Question 15

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

Correlational research using archival data is appropriate for studying gender differences in suicide rates, as it involves analyzing existing data without manipulating variables or using random assignment.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

Psychologists typically use a correlation coefficient to denote the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

Question 17

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 generalized to real-world settings and other populations. Therefore, a study with high external validity is likely to yield results that can be applied to different contexts and groups beyond those that were studied.

Question 18

Mirena wants 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. Mirena has conducted a ____.

Accepted Answer

Mirena has conducted a meta-analysis, which involves combining results from multiple studies to generate an overall conclusion. A correlational study involves examining the relationship between two variables, but it does not necessarily involve multiple studies. A field experiment involves manipulating an independent variable in a natural setting, which does not apply to Mirena's situation. A quasi-experiment involves comparing groups that are not randomly assigned, which is also not relevant to Mirena's research question.

Question 19

Zhao'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. Zhao will have to ____.

Accepted Answer

Since Zhao cannot randomly assign people to conditions of poverty versus wealth, he cannot manipulate the independent variable, making a field experiment or factorial design impossible. Therefore, he must take a correlational approach, meaning he will observe and measure variables as they occur naturally and examine the relationships between them.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

Correlational research can only establish a relationship between two or more variables, but it cannot determine the direction of the relationship or identify causation. Therefore, researchers cannot draw conclusions about cause and effect in correlational research.

Quiz 1: The Mission and the Method

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.