A Researcher Is Interested in the Social Behavior of Mice

Multiple Choice

A researcher is interested in the social behavior of mice. He hypothesizes that mice from Strain A will be more social than mice from Strain B, and Strain B will be significantly more social than mice from Strain C. Mice from each of the three different strains (20 mice in each strain) are raised in a laboratory. The mice are group housed with members of its own strain. All the mice receive the exact same amount of food, water, and light over the first 10 weeks of life. At 11 weeks of age, each mouse is placed in a cage with a novel mouse from his own strain. The mouse's investigatory behavior toward the other mouse is timed for 10 minutes.
If, after running the appropriate analysis, the researcher finds a result with p = .50, what can she conclude?

A) Her hypothesis was supported by the analysis.
B) Different strains of mice do exhibit significantly different levels of social behavior.
C) Strain A is more social than Strain B, but not more than Strain C.
D) Different strains of mice do not exhibit significantly different levels of social behavior.