Exam 9: Multivariate Correlational Research

Dr.Sparrow is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships.Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g. ,Dakin & Wampler,2008).Dr.Sparrow is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables,such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction.He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level,so he decides to use a multivariate design.He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction)can explain the relationship.He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center.Below are his results. -Which of the following is NOT a predictor variable in Dr.Sparrow's study?

Dr.Sparrow is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships.Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g. ,Dakin & Wampler,2008).Dr.Sparrow is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables,such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction.He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level,so he decides to use a multivariate design.He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction)can explain the relationship.He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center.Below are his results. -A researcher has examined a variety of correlational studies that point to a causal relationship between two variables.All of the studies have found a positive relationship between the two variables,but for ethical reasons,no experiments have been conducted.Using an approach of pattern and parsimony,the researcher may begin to make a causal claim by doing which of the following?

Dr.Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement.In January,Dr.Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement)and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester.In May,Dr.Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA).She finds the following correlations. -Of the correlations listed,how many are cross-sectional correlations?

Dr.Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement.In January,Dr.Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement)and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester.In May,Dr.Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA).She finds the following correlations. -Correlation 4 is an example of which of the following types of correlations?

Which of the following is a necessary component of a longitudinal design?

Name two consequences of journalists reporting on single studies rather than reporting on patterns of data.

All of the following are true of betas and correlation coefficients EXCEPT:

Dr.Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement.In January,Dr.Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement)and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester.In May,Dr.Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA).She finds the following correlations. -For Dr.Farah to make the claim that homework causes academic achievement,which correlation does she predict will NOT be significant?

Dr.Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the potential causal relationship between doing homework and academic achievement.In January,Dr.Farah has her students report their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement)and estimate how many hours they spent doing homework during a typical week in the fall semester.In May,Dr.Farah measures the same variables again (the estimated number of hours spent doing homework during a typical week in the spring semester and their spring GPA).She finds the following correlations. -In understanding "controlling for" a third variable,which of the following is a similar concept?

Dr.Uchida is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g. ,hurricanes,tornados,earthquakes).His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)symptoms.However,he is curious as to whether the effect of emotional well-being goes through another variable,that of social support.He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by the 2011 tsunami in Japan to report on how their well-being was affected by the tsunami,the social support felt after the storm,and the number of PTSD symptoms.Dr.Uchida finds support for his proposed relationship.However,in examining his data more closely,he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women. -Which of the following is the mediating variable in Dr.Uchida's hypothesis?

Dr.Uchida is a clinical psychologist who is curious about how people deal with natural disasters (e.g. ,hurricanes,tornados).His previous research suggests that there is a relationship between how much people feel that their emotional well-being was affected by the natural disaster and their likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)symptoms.However,he is curious whether the effect of emotional well-being goes through another variable,social support.He conducts a study in which he asks 174 men and women affected by the 2011 tsunami in Japan to report on how their well-being was affected by the tsunami,the social support felt after the storm,and the number of PTSD symptoms.Dr.Uchida finds support for his proposed relationship.However,in examining his data more closely,he finds that the relationship between emotional well-being and PTSD symptoms is stronger for men than for women. -Using Dr.Uchida's study,explain the steps he would go through to examine whether there was support for his mediation hypothesis.

Explain what it means that third variables are "external" to the causal variable and mediators are "internal" to the causal variable.

Why is the statistical validity of a multiple regression design more complicated to interrogate than a bivariate design?

Dr.Sparrow is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships.Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g. ,Dakin & Wampler,2008).Dr.Sparrow is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables,such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction.He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level,so he decides to use a multivariate design.He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction)can explain the relationship.He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center.Below are his results. -Given Dr.Sparrow's design,which of the following problems is his study best able to overcome?

Dr.Sparrow is a social psychologist who studies romantic relationships.Several researchers have found that there is a link between income and marital satisfaction (e.g. ,Dakin & Wampler,2008).Dr.Sparrow is curious as to whether there is a causal link between the two variables,such that having a higher income causes higher levels of marital satisfaction.He is confident that he cannot reasonably or ethically manipulate people's income level,so he decides to use a multivariate design.He is also curious as to whether there is a causal link between these two variables or if two other variables (number of arguments and life satisfaction)can explain the relationship.He measures his three variables in a sample of 124 married couples recruited from a local community center.Below are his results. -One of Dr.Sparrow's colleagues argues that he should have considered years of marriage in his study,which is a known predictor of marital satisfaction.If Dr.Sparrow conducts his study again and asks people to report on how many years they have been married as well,which of the following statements is true?