Deck 8: Hypothesis Testing and Inferential Statistics

Question 1

Which of the following is true about the p-value?

A) It indicates how many observations have been made.
B) It indicates whether the result is likely to have occurred by chance.
C) It indicates the likelihood of having made a Type 1 error.
D) It indicates the likelihood of having made a Type 2 error.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Alpha refers to

A) the probability of making a Type 1 error.
B) the probability of making a Type 2 error.
C) the p-value.
D) 1 minus the power of the statistical test.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

If the one-sided p-value is .02, then the two-sided p-value is

A) .01.
B) .05.
C) .04.
D) .08.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following equations correctly describes the relationship among statistical significance, effect size, and sample size?

A) Statistical significance = effect size x sample size
B) Effect size = statistical significance x sample size
C) Statistical significance = effect size x p-value
D) Sample size = statistical significance x effect size

Question 5

One way to alleviate the difficulty of missing weak relationships is to

A) increase beta.
B) decrease statistical power.
C) increase the sample size.
D) decrease alpha.

Question 6

Alpha serves as

A) a standard against which the p-value is compared.
B) a measure of statistical significance.
C) an estimate of the effect size.
D) an inferential statistic.

Question 7

Which of the following could lead a scientist to fail to detect a relationship between variables?

A) High statistical power
B) A small alpha
C) A small beta
D) A large effect size

Question 8

What is the advantage of using two-sided (as opposed to one-sided) p-values?

A) They are more likely to produce significant results.
B) They have greater statistical power.
C) They are less common in research.
D) They allow the researcher to interpret unexpected but significant relationships.

Question 9

Results are said to be statistically significant if

A) p < alpha.
B) p > alpha.
C) beta = alpha.
D) beta < alpha.

Question 10

Which of the following refers to a distribution of events that has two equally likely possibilities?

A) The binomial distribution
B) The sampling distribution of the mean
C) The effect size statistic
D) The p-value

Question 11

Which of the following is true about hypothesis testing?

A) Hypothesis testing involves comparing the observed data to what would have been expected if the research hypothesis were true.
B) Hypothesis testing involves comparing the observed data to what would have been expected if the null hypothesis were true.
C) Hypothesis testing involves comparing the observed data to what would have been expected if the p-value were less than alpha.
D) Hypothesis testing involves comparing the observed data to what would have been expected if the p-value were equal to .05.

Question 12

A Type 2 error occurs when

A) a researcher fails to reject the null hypothesis when it is false.
B) a researcher fails to reject the null hypothesis when it is true.
C) a researcher rejects the null hypothesis when it is false.
D) a researcher rejects the null hypothesis when it is true.

Question 13

The sampling distribution is essentially a picture of

A) the research hypothesis.
B) the effect size.
C) the null hypothesis.
D) statistical significance.

Question 14

Beta refers to

A) the probability of making a Type 1 error.
B) the probability of making a Type 2 error.
C) the p-value.
D) 1 plus the effect size statistic.

Question 15

A researcher wishes to avoid making a Type 1 error, so she sets alpha to .01 rather than .05. Which of the following is a disadvantage of this strategy?

A) She may miss a relationship that is really there.
B) She may overestimate her effect size.
C) She may find too many statistically significant relationships.
D) She may underestimate her effect size.

Question 16

A Type 1 error occurs when

A) we reject the null hypothesis when it is false.
B) we retain the null hypothesis when it is false.
C) we reject the null hypothesis when it is true.
D) we retain the null hypothesis when it is true.

Question 17

As the sample size used in a research project increases,

A) statistical significance also increases.
B) the effect size also increases.
C) Type I errors also increase.
D) statistical significance decreases.

Question 18

Increasing the sample size (N) will increase the statistical significance of a relationship whenever the effect size is

A) equal to N.
B) less than N.
C) less than zero.
D) greater than zero.

Question 19

In a correlational design, the assumed null hypothesis is

A) r = 1.00.
B) r < -1.00.
C) r > 0 or r < 0.
D) r = 0.

Question 20

A scientist has concluded that two variables are significantly correlated when in fact they are not. The scientist has

A) made a Type 1 error.
B) miscalculated the p-value.
C) a small effect size.
D) low statistical power.

Question 21

A researcher has found a relationship that has an effect size of .60. How should the researcher consider this effect size?

A) It is a small effect size.
B) It is a medium effect size.
C) It is a large effect size.
D) An effect size of .60 cannot be found.

Question 22

Which of the following will be likely to increase statistical significance?

A) A larger sample size
B) A smaller alpha
C) A smaller effect size
D) A two-sided (rather than a one-sided) p-value

Question 23

Rob is studying the relationship between caffeine intake and aggression. He found that the amount of caffeine consumed is positively correlated with aggressive behavior. Which of the following p-values would support his research hypothesis?

A) p > .05.
B) p = .06.
C) p = .0089
D) p < -.05

Question 24

A Type 1 error occurs when

A) the null hypothesis is rejected when it is actually false.
B) the null hypothesis is accepted when it is actually true.
C) the null hypothesis is accepted when it is actually false.
D) the null hypothesis is rejected when it is actually true.

Question 25

Which of the following is true regarding Type 2 errors?

A) They are less likely to occur when alpha is smaller.
B) They increase as N increases.
C) They are generally of less concern to scientists than are Type 1 errors.
D) They can be modified to show statistical significance.

Question 26

A strength of the effect size measure is that it

A) does not rely on experimental data.
B) is significant in most research.
C) demonstrates causation.
D) provides the strength of a relationship independent of the sample size.

Question 27

Which of the following represents the assumption that the observed data will not differ between experimental conditions, except for differences due to chance?

A) The alternate hypothesis
B) The margin of error
C) The null hypothesis
D) The sampling distribution

Question 28

If the results of an experiment are determined to be statistically significant, then the experimenter should do which of the following?

A) Reject the null hypothesis
B) Accept the null hypothesis
C) Reject the alternate hypothesis
D) Increase the alpha level

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true?

A) When the effect size is greater than zero, smaller Ns produce greater statistical significance.
B) When the effect size is zero, larger Ns produce greater statistical significance.
C) The p-value is not a good indicator of relationship size.
D) The effect size is influenced by sample size.

Question 30

Normally, in behavioral research

A) alpha is smaller than beta.
B) beta is smaller than alpha.
C) beta and alpha are equal.
D) alpha and beta are both set at .05.

Question 31

Margie sets alpha to .05 whereas Charles sets alpha to .10. Which of the following is more likely to occur to Margie than to Charles?

A) She may miss a relationship that is really there.
B) She may overestimate her effect size.
C) She may find too many statistically significant relationships.
D) She may underestimate her effect size.

Question 32

If a researcher wanted to be certain to detect even a small relationship between variables, she would

A) set alpha to be smaller.
B) set beta to be smaller.
C) set alpha to be larger.
D) set beta to be larger.

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of inferential statistics?

A) William uses a small sample of depressed people to predict mood changes in a large population of depressed people.
B) Charles interviews three schizophrenic patients.
C) Leslie notes the relationships between a psychology professor and the students in her class.
D) Janet gives participants a personality test both before and after they take a final exam.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT true about the effect size statistic?

A) It is an index of the strength of a relationship.
B) It is based on the sample size.
C) It provides information about relationships among variables that the p-value does not.
D) It can be used to help determine what sample size is needed for a research project.

Question 35

Which of the following is normally true in behavioral research?

A) Making a Type 2 error is seen as more dangerous than making a Type 1 error.
B) Making a Type 1 error is seen as more dangerous than making a Type 2 error.
C) Making a Type 1 error and a Type 2 error are considered equally dangerous.
D) It is not possible to compare Type 1 and Type 2 errors.

Question 36

The stronger the relationship between two variables,

A) the larger the effect size.
B) the larger the sample size.
C) the larger the alpha level.
D) the smaller the correlation coefficient .