Briefly outline the steps involved in order to make an inference about the effect of an independent variable using null hypothesis significance testing; be sure to indicate the conditions in which an independent variable is judged to be nonsignificant and when it is statistically significant.

What will be an ideal response?


The first step is to assume that the null hypothesis is true; that is, there is no difference in the population means for the conditions of an experiment. Next, sample means for groups in an experiment are used to estimate the population means. The difference between these means is computed and an inferential statistic (e.g., t-test) is used to determine the probability of obtaining the difference under the null hypothesis. This probability value associated with the test statistic is compared to the level of significance, alpha (typically, p = .05). If the observed probability value is less than .05 we reject the null hypothesis of no difference and state that the difference between means is statistically significant. We infer that the independent variable produced a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable (assuming the experiment is internally valid). If the observed probability value is greater than .05 we do not reject the null hypothesis (i.e., no difference between the population means). We infer there is not sufficient evidence in the experiment to conclude that the independent variable produced a reliable effect

Psychology

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a. through communication from others. b. through subliminal perception. c. to persuade ourselves. d. imagery-induced.

Psychology

In the past, somatization disorder was known as:

A. humor imbalance B. preeclampsia C. the vapors D. hysteria

Psychology

_____ is defined as an organized combination of an individual's unique attributes, motives, and behaviors

a. Sociability b. Generativity c. Personality d. Integrity

Psychology