Chapter 2—Basic Concepts
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
2.1 Scales of measurement are important because
a) they influence the kinds of statistical tests we will use in at least a crude way.
2.2 + Which scale really isn’t much of a scale at all?
2.3 + The major difference between an interval and a ratio scale is that
2.4 When we are concerned about the measurement scale, we are concerned about
2.5 Evans et al. (1998) recorded adrenaline levels of children who lived near a newly
opened airport to see if the presence of the airport increased stress levels in
children. (Increased stress would be associated with increases in adrenaline
levels.) In this study we would most likely view adrenaline as
2.6 In the study of children living near an airport, we first need to be concerned about
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2.7 + If we are comparing the adrenaline scores of children who live near an airport
with those who live away from an airport, the dependent variable is
2.8 In the preceding question the independent variable is
2.9 When we use paw-lick latency as a measure of temperature sensitivity, latency is
2.10 If we want to obtain a random sample of people to interview, we could best do so
by
2.11 + Which of the following is least likely to be an example of an independent
variable?
2.12 + Which of the following is a discrete variable?
2.13 + The Greek letter is a symbol for
Test Bank
2.14 An important general rule given in the text is
2.15 In an equation, a constant is
2.16 + Which of the following is most certainly an ordinal scale?
2.17 + Calculate X2 with X1 = 2, X2 = 5.
2.18 + Professor Jeffrey assigned each of his students a number and selected 20 for his
study by using a table of random numbers. Professor Jeffrey was interested in
how the type of feedback received would affect the level of happiness in his
students. The students were either praised or insulted and then the levels of
happiness were measured by a questionnaire administered at the end of the study.
What is the dependent variable of this study?
2.19 In the above study, what is the independent variable?
2.20 What is wrong with the above study when generalizing to people in general?
Chapter 2
2.21 + For the set of numbers 1, 17, 19, 30, 87, X5 refers to
2.22 + For the following equation, which mathematical operation should be performed
first?
13
))14(7(26
−
++
2.23 Which of the following is NOT an example of “assigning a number to an object”?
2.24 A true zero point is characteristic of
2.25 + If a happiness scale had a true zero point, a score of zero would mean
2.26 In an experiment, an independent variable is _______ and a dependent variable is
_______.
2.27 Use of a sample not randomly selected in an experiment
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2.28 According to the text, the most important component of an experiment for giving
us confidence that our results are meaningful is
2.29 Which of the following is NOT true of random number tables?
2.30 Where X is a variable and C is a constant, which of the following equations is
true?
2.31 + Which of the following types of variables cannot be continuous?
2.32 A consumer researcher wanted to examine the effects of using different-colored
boxes on shoppers’ level of buying her brand of cereal. What is the dependent
variable?
2.33 + The use of different colored boxes in the above example is most likely to be a
2.34 + Which of the following is most likely to be an independent variable?
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2.35 Ordinal scales
2.36 When _______ is used, every subject in a study has an equal chance of being
placed in each of the groups being formed?
2.37 Which of the following statements is NOT true about scales of measurement?
a) Measurement scales depend on the purpose for which you collected data.
2.38 What does NOT count as “measurement?”
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
example of ratio data.
nominal data.
discrete variable.
control group and a hypnosis group) and measured their smoking reduction.
Smoking reduction is an independent variable.
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types of music while studying. Test performance is a dependant variable.
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
2.49 Name three examples of discrete variables.
2.50 Name three examples of continuous variables.
2.51 Give one example of each of the following types of data:
a) nominal
b) ordinal
c) interval
d) ratio
2.52 Dr. Smith measured depressive symptoms using a questionnaire where scores
could range from 0 to 40. Then, he used the clinical cutoff of a score of 16 to
classify people as depressed or not depressed. Briefly describe the two types of
data Dr. Smith had at his disposal.
2.53 A drink manufacturer wanted to examine the effect of different can designs on
sales.
a) Name the independent variable.
b) Name the dependent variable.
c) Is the dependent variable discrete or continuous?
2.54 An instructor for a course in Psychology of Gender wanted to know if there are
gender differences in whether or not students major in the sciences.
a) Name the independent variable.
b) Name the dependent variable.
c) Is the dependent variable discrete or continuous?
2.55 Briefly describe the benefits of random assignment to groups.
2.56 Describe two ways to obtain a random sample.
2.57 Suppose the following numbers represent test scores from students in this class:
80, 95, 75, 100.
a) What is X2?
b) What notation would be used to represent the sum of these test scores?
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2.58 Given the following numbers: 1, 3, 4, 2, 3:
a) Calculate X.
b) Calculate X2
c) Calculate CX, where C = 2
Answers to Open-ended Questions
Chapter 2.