AP Psychology : Interpreting Results

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

IQ data is collected for one thousand individuals. If the data are normally distributed, how many of these individuals are likely to fall within two standard deviations above the mean?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

2.3 percent of individuals fall two standard deviations above the mean in a normal distribution. 2.3% of 1000 individuals is 23 individuals that fall above this cutoff. 

Convert the percentage into a ratio.

Create a ratio using the total number of the sample size. Use the variable  as a representation of the number of individuals that fall two standard deviations above the mean.

Create a proportion using the two ratios.

Cross multiply and solve for .

Simplify.

Divide both sides of the equation by .

Solve.

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

Researchers discover a .62 correlation between self-esteem and academic achievement in a group of high school students. This would be described as a __________ in strength relationship. 

Possible Answers:

weak

strong

moderate

medium

Correct answer:

moderate

Explanation:

Any correlation between .30 and .69 is considered moderate in strength. Anything above .60 is considered strong. Anything below .30 is considered weak or no correlation.  

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

A group of psychologists reject their null hypothesis, but it turns out that their null hypothesis is true. What kind of error have they committed?    

Possible Answers:

Cohort effect

Correlational error

Type I error

Type II error 

Correct answer:

Type I error

Explanation:

A type I error occurs when a null hypothesis is rejected when researchers should have failed to reject the null hypothesis, in other words, when the researchers reject a true hypothesis. Remember, a null hypothesis is the assumption that there is no difference between the groups participating in the study. So if a type I error occurs, that means that the researchers are stating there is a difference between the groups when there really is not a difference. A Type II error involves the acceptance of a false hypothesis.

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

A group of psychologists fail to reject their null hypothesis, but the null turns out to be false. What kind of error have they committed?

Possible Answers:

Cohort error 

Sampling error 

Type I error 

Type II error 

Correct answer:

Type II error 

Explanation:

A type II error occurs when researchers fail to reject their null hypothesis when they should have rejected it. A null hypothesis is the assumption that there is no difference between the groups being studied. So if a type II error occurs, that means that the researchers are stating there is not a difference between the groups when there really is one.

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

A psychology statistics professor wants to display data from previous test scores. There are 100 students in her class. On the last test 5 students received perfect scores; however, the rest of the students averaged a score of a 66. Which of the following central tendency measures would be the best to describe the class’s performance on the exam? 

Possible Answers:

Mode

Standard deviation

Mean

Median

Correct answer:

Median

Explanation:

Central tendency measures include the mean, median, and mode. In this case, the median would be best because several outliers skew this data set (e.g. perfect scores). The mean would be influenced strongly by these outliers. 

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

Which of the following correlation coefficients demonstrates a strong inverse relationship?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A correlation coefficient is a measure of the relationship between two variables. Correlation coefficients range from -1 to +1. For this reason -1.5 is incorrect because it is not possible to have a correlation coefficient less than -1. This question is asking for a coefficient with a strong inverse relationship. A positive number indicates a direct relationship, while a negative number indicates an indirect or inverse relationship. The specific number indicates the strength of the relationship. If the correlation coefficient is closer to -1 or +1, then it is said to be strong. As the number moves closer to zero, the strength of the relationship decreases; therefore, -0.90 is the best answer. 

Example Question #12 : Interpreting Results

The following are the ages of 12 children sitting in a row at an elementary school assembly:

For the data set, what are the mean, median, and mode, respectively?

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to calculate the mean (also called arithmetic average) we need to add all the values together and divide by the number of values. In this case, the total sum is 87 and the number of values is 12, so we perform the following calculation to obtain our mean:

To find the median, we simply arrange the values in order from least to greatest and identify the middlemost number. However, since 12 is an even number, there will not be one single middle value– therefore, we find the average of the two middlemost values. Arranged in ascending order, the data set is:

The 6th and 7th values are 6 and 7, so we know our median is the average of 6 and 7.

The mode is the value that occurs most frequently in the data set. Here, 6 occurs three times and no other number occurs more than twice, which means 6 is our mode.

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

In an experiment, which of the following is measured or recorded by the experimenter? 

Possible Answers:

Independent variable

Dependent variable

Random variables

Control variable

Correct answer:

Dependent variable

Explanation:

The "dependent variable" is indicative of the outcome of an experiment, and is recorded as evidence to attempt to provide support for or against a thesis. The independent variable is indeed measured; however,its quantities are irrelevant to an experiment. Control and random variables are not recorded and are only useful when considering the changes to dependent variable. 

Example Question #12 : Interpreting Results

Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship?

Possible Answers:

.02

.12

.77

.545

-.89

Correct answer:

-.89

Explanation:

A correlation coefficient is a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together. Specifically, it measures how well one factor predicts another on a scale of -1 to 1, with numbers closer to -1 and 1 indicating the strongest relationships. Whether a correlation coefficient is negative or positive does not indicate the strength of the relationship, it simply tells us the direction of the relationship!

Example Question #11 : Interpreting Results

Which of the following is true about statistical significance?

Possible Answers:

Statistical significance is typically obtained when a p value is less than .05

Statistical significance is typically obtained when a p value is greater than .05

It is always more important than practical significance

The null hypothesis is rarely considered during significance testing

Statistical significance involves accepting the null hypothesis

Correct answer:

Statistical significance is typically obtained when a p value is less than .05

Explanation:

Statistical significance is a statistical criterion for rejecting the assumption of no difference between groups in a particular study. In order to establish statistical significance, researchers typically look for a p value of less than .05, which indicates that the study's findings were not obtained due to chance or error.

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