Exam 2: Personality Research Methods

If the difference in a measured behavior is so small between experimental groups that it could be caused by a chance fluctuation, then we would say that the result

A researcher finds that men make more errors on a memory task than do women. After conducting the appropriate statistical test on this difference, he finds a probability level of less than .05. The researcher will probably conclude that

Which of the following describes the relationship between your credit card balance each month and the amount of interest you are paying (not interest rate)?

Dr. Pennington is conducting an experiment in which she alters, or manipulates, one variable to see if it causes an effect or a change in a second variable. In this study, the second variable that is being observed is called a(n) __________ variable.

A personality researcher administered her new measure of self-esteem to a group of participants. She waited two weeks and then gave the test to the same people again. She found that scores on the test changed quite a bit during the two-week period. Many participants who had scored low during the first administration scored high the second time, and many who had scored high initially scored low on the second administration. What problem does the researcher have with the new test?

Describe a test or measure that is low in reliability. How can you know that it has poor reliability? Would a correlation coefficient for reliability be closer to 1.00 or -1.00 for this test? List some reasons why personality tests can be low in reliability.

Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship?

A test maker conducts the appropriate statistical tests to make sure that all the items on his new personality test are measuring the same basic concept. He or she wants to demonstrate that the test has good