Exam 8: Multivariate Correlational Research

RESEARCH STUDY 8.6 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, 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. -Refer to Research Study 8.6 above to answer the following question. Using Dr.Uchida's study,identify a mediating variable and a moderating variable and explain the difference between the two types of variables.

-Refer to Research Study 8.4 above to answer the following question. There are three possible causal patterns that can be found in a study like Dr.O'Toole's.Choose one causal pattern and explain which correlations need to be significant,which ones should not be significant,and what type of causal claim can be made.

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

Which of the following is NOT true of a third variable and a mediating variable?

Which of the following popular press "headlines" might suggest that a multiple regression has been used?

RESEARCH STUDY 8.5 Dr. Nguyen is a psychologist who studies legal decision making. Specifically, he is curious about the factors that influence the sentences juries give to defendants that are irrelevant to the crime committed (known as extra-legal factors). To study this further, he samples a group of jury-eligible adults from the Memphis area. He provides them with the fact pattern to a particular case and allows them to watch the closing statements from the trial. He then asks them to provide a sentence (in months) for the defendant. In addition, he measures two legal factors (the number of arguments made by the prosecuting attorney and the length of time the defense attorney speaks during his or her closing argument) and two extra-legal factors (how attractive the participants think the defendant is [higher scores indicate higher ratings of attractiveness] and how many legal televisions shows the participants watch). The data are below. -Refer to Research Study 8.5 above to answer the following question. Choose one of the variables in Dr.Nguyen's study.Explain how this variable relates to criminal sentencing,considering direction of the effect,statistical significance,and strength of relationship compared with the other variables.

RESEARCH STUDY 8.1 Dr. Farah is an educational psychologist who is interested in studying the link between homework and academic achievement. Over the years, several researchers have found a link between the two, suggesting that doing homework is associated with higher grades. However, Dr. Farah is curious about the possible causal link between the two variables. She conducts the following study. At the beginning of the spring semester, Dr. Farah measures the number of hours her students spend doing homework during the preceding week and their fall GPA (a measure of academic achievement). At the end of the semester, Dr. Farah measures the same variables again (the hours spent doing homework the preceding week and their spring GPA). She finds the following correlations. -Refer to Research Study 8.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the correlations is an autocorrelation?

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

RESEARCH STUDY 8.6 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, 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. -Refer to Research Study 8.6 above to answer the following question. Using Dr.Uchida's study,explain the steps he would go through to examine whether there was support for his mediation hypothesis.

-Refer to Research Study 8.4 above to answer the following question. Describe what makes Dr.O'Toole's study (1)a longitudinal study and (2)a multivariate correlational study.