Symbols: ​H ​µ

​ s​ ​ σ​ ​ α ≠

Use this prompt for Qs 1-15:

1.)​ In a study, participants watch a video of a car accident. Let’s say that it is known that in the
population, people estimate that the speed of the car was traveling 45MPH when it “hit” the
parked car (µ = 45), with a standard deviation of 5MPH (σ = 5). To test how the wording can
influence one’s memory of the event, a sample of 16 participants is asked to indicate how fast the
car was traveling when it “smashed into” the parked car. In other words, does changing the verb
from “hit” to “smashed” change the eyewitness recall of the accident? In this condition, the
sample who heard the word “smashed” estimated the speed of the car to be 47.7MPH on average.
Do these results suggest that people differ in how fast they thought the car was traveling when
the accident is described using the word “smashed” compared to the word “hit”?
1a.)What is the Independent Variable (IV) with its respective levels and what is the
Dependent Variable (DV) in this study?

1b.) ​Write the ​null and alternative hypotheses​ in symbols (use the provided symbols at
the top). Then, explain why hypotheses are expressed in terms of population parameters and not
sample statistics?

1c.) Assume that we draw all possible random samples of 16 people from the population
of all adult observers in this study. What would be the appropriate standard error (SE) for a
distribution of samples of size 16? Give an interpretation in words of what this number means.
(​Type your calculations if possible. Example:​ (100 - 90)/(sqrt(25)) = 10/5 = ​2)

1d.) Which of the following is the correct ​sampling distribution​ using samples of 16
(n=16). Label the x-axis in both raw scores and z-scores up to three standard deviations.

a.
 b.

c.

d.

1e.) ​What proportion of sample means (or z’s for a set of sample means) would ​exceed​ a
z of ​plus and minus​ 1.00, if H​0​ is true? ​Type your calculations if possible.

1f.) What are the ​critical values​ for the test statistic, assuming α = .05?

1g.) Find the ​obtained (i.e., computed) test statistic​ for this study. ​Type your
calculations if possible.

1h.) Make a statistical decision about the null hypothesis. Will you reject or fail to reject
the null based on your sample data? Why?

1i.) What do your results mean in the context of this study, in words a layman would
understand? Be sure to report your test statistic, and whether it is significant.
 1j.) Continuing with this example, (i.e. the same population mean, standard deviation,
etc.), calculate the effect size of estimating the speed of the car when it “smashed into” the
parked car, compared to when it “hit” the parked car (using Cohen’s d). How large of an effect
size is this, small, medium, or large? ​Type your calculations if possible.

1k.) The following table lists the possible decisions that can be made based on the
research study above. Label which boxes would be correct decisions and which would be errors
(Type I and Type II).
H​0​ True H​0​ False

There is NO There is a difference

difference between between the
the estimated speed estimated speed of
of the car when it the car when it
“smashed into” vs. “smashed into” vs.
“hit” the parked car “hit” the parked car

Statistical Reject H​0

Decision
There is a difference
between the
estimated speed of
the car when it
“smashed into” vs.
“hit” the parked car

Fail to reject H​0

There is NO
difference between
the estimated speed
of the car when it
“smashed into” vs.
“hit” the parked car
 1L.) What would a Type I error mean in the context of this study?

1m.) What would a Type II error mean in the context of this study?

1n.) Given our statistical decision about the null hypothesis (part h), what is the only
type of error we could make?

1o.) Please list the four assumptions we make when we perform significance tests?

2.) ​What would happen in this study (#1 above) if we adopted an alpha of .01, rather than .05?
Would we reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?

2a.) What would happen if we used an alpha of .001 in the study described above (#1)?
Again, would we make a different decision about the null hypothesis?

2b.) In general, what is the effect of using a smaller alpha level on our likelihood of
rejecting a null hypothesis, assuming everything else stays the same?

Use this prompt for the rest of the questions:

3.)​ The average amount of hours spent practicing among all NBA players is 25.3 hours with a
standard deviation of 2 hours. A researcher is interested in how time spent practicing basketball
affects player performance. He identifies a sample of 30 “star” players by selecting the best
player from every team in the league (30 teams). The mean hours spent practicing in this sample
is 28.3 hours. Complete all 4 steps of hypothesis testing to decide if “star” players practice more
or less than the average NBA player.

3a.) Write out the null and alternative hypotheses, using the appropriate symbols.

3b.) Assume that we draw all possible random samples of 30 individuals from the
population of all NBA players. What would be the appropriate standard error (SE) for a
distribution of samples of size 30? ​Type your calculations if possible.

3c.) ​What is the critical value for this test statistic, assuming α = .05?
 3d.) Calculate the test statistic (i.e. obtained z)​. ​Type your calculations if possible.

3e.) ​Make a statistical decision about the null. Will you reject or fail to reject the null
based on your sample data? Why?

3f.) What do your results mean in the context of this study, in words a layman would
understand? Be sure to report your test statistic, and whether it is significant.

3g.) The following table lists the possible decisions that can be made based on the
research study above. Label which boxes would be correct decisions and which would be errors
(Type I and Type II).

H​0​ True H​0​ False

Time spent practicing Time spent practicing

is ​NOT​ related to is related to player
player performance. performance

Statistical Reject H​0

Decision
Time spent practicing
is related to player
performance.

Fail to reject H​0

Time spent practicing

is ​NOT​ related to
player performance.

3h.) What would a Type I error mean in the context of this study?
3i.) What would a Type II error mean in the context of this study?
3j.) Given our statistical decision about the null hypothesis (part f), what is the only type
of error we could make?
3k.) What is the effect of decreasing n on the likelihood of rejecting the null hypothesis in
the study described above, assuming everything else stays the same? Explain why increasing n
has this effect, focusing on the standard error.