Dr Moynihan Conducts a Study Examining the Relationship Between the Number

Essay

Dr. Moynihan conducts a study examining the relationship between the number of panic attacks a person experienced in the past month, the number of nightmares experienced in the past month, and people's levels of neuroticism (a personality trait characterized by instability, anxiety, and worry). She collects a convenience sample of 50 community college students (25 males, 25 females). Below are her findings.
•A (number of panic attacks in the past month and neuroticism): r =.03, not sig.
•B (number of panic attacks in the past month and number of nightmares in the past month): r =.14 (p = .05)
•C (number of nightmares in the past month and neuroticism): r = .48 (p = .003).
Imagine that Dr. Moynihan finds two outliers. These two people report a very high number of nightmares in the past month and have very high scores on neuroticism. Why should Dr. Moynihan be worried about the presence of these two outliers?