2021-2022 Term 1 MOCK Take-Home Test

1) For each of the items below, please indicate whether or not it is a principle, standard,
or best practice for human research ethics in psychology by circling the correct answer (3
points)

• Participation must be voluntary YES/NO

• Researchers can collect data after they have submitted ethics application YES/NO

2) Which of the items listed under each of the four primary sections of a psychological
research paper belong in that section?

Section 1: Introduction (2 points)

A. Summary of the entire study

B. Questionnaires

C. Literature review

D. Implications

E. None of the above

Section 2: Method (2 points)

A. Justification of hypotheses

B. Materials used

C. Descriptive statistics

D. Limitations

E. None of the above

Section 3: Results (2 points)

A. Inferential statistics

B. Interpretation of findings

C. Procedure used

D. None of the above

E. All the above

Section 4: Discussion (2 points)

A. Justification of hypotheses

B. Figures
C. Interpretation of findings

D. Literature review

E. None of the above

3) Please read the following abstract of a recent scientific paper and answer the
corresponding questions.

What were the variables in this study? (3 points)

Time perception, temporal binding window, alpha peak frequency

What was the research questions for this study? (2 points)

To what degree, if any, time perception, temporal binding window and alpha peak
frequency are related?

What was the null hypothesis (i.e., H0) that corresponded with the research question for
this study? (2 points)

Time perception, temporal binding window and alpha peak frequency are not associated.

What was the alternative hypothesis (i.e., H1) that corresponded with the research
question for this study? (2 points)

Time perception, temporal binding window and alpha peak frequency are associated.

Are the variables categorical or quantitative in this study? (3 points)

All quantitative.

What type of statistical test could be used to assess the relationship between these
variables? Select only one of the following options. (1 point)

a) Standard deviation
b) T-test

c) Correlation test

d) Normality test

Name at least two statistical tests within the category you chose in the previous question
that would be appropriate for the study described above. (2 points)

1: Pearson

2: Spearman

Is the hypothesis non-directional and directional? (1 point)

Directional

Is there a relationship between time perception and alpha peak frequency in the study
above? (1 point)

No

What type of graph could be used to illustrate the relationship between temporal binding
window and alpha peak frequency? (1 point)

a) Histogram

b) Scatterplot

c) Box plot

d) 2 x 2 table

4) A survey was conducted to see how many times people washed their hands on a
particular day. A sample of 100 was collected. The results are displayed in the frequency
table below.

Frequency
No of hand washes (per day)
1-5 10
6-10 60
11-15 5
16-20 15
21-25 10

According to this table, what is the percentage of the people surveyed who wash their
hands less than 16 times per day? (2 points)

A. 15%
B. 55%

C. 30%

D. 75%

E. 90%

Answer: D 10+60+5=75, 75/100=0.75

If we randomly choose one person from this sample, what is the probability that the
person washes hands between 11 to 25 times per day? (2 points)

A. 45%

B. 15%

C. 30%

D. 50%

E. 75%

Answer: C 5+15+10=30, 30/100=0.30

5) For a normally distributed variable with a mean of 150 and a standard deviation of 20:

68.3% of scores are between 130 and 170 (1 point) 150-20=130, 150+20=170

95.5% of scores are between 110 and 190 (1 point) 150-40=110, 150+40=190

99.7% of scores are between 90 and 210 (1 point) 150-60=90, 150+60=210

6) What is the probability of a normal random variable taking a value less than 2 SDs
above its mean (rounded to 1 digit after decimal)? (1 point)
Right side from the mean. Find value in z table. (.9772 = 97.7%)

What is the probability of a normal random variable taking a value less than 1.2 SDs below
its mean (rounded to 1 digit after decimal)? (1 point)

Left side from the mean. Find value in z table. (.1151 = 11.5%)
What is the probability of a normal random variable taking a value more than 2 SDs above
its mean (rounded to 1 digit after decimal)? (2 points)

Right side from the mean. Find value in z table. (.9772 = 97.7%). Then 100% - 97.7% = 2.3%
7) A math test has a national average of 500 and standard deviation of 100 (μ0 = 500, σ =
100). The distribution is close to normal. The dean of a university suspects that in recent
years, the school has been attracting students who are better in math than the national
average. To test this, they took a random sample of 4 (n = 4) from the new students and
obtained an average math test score of 550 (x̅= 550).

Formulating hypotheses H0 and Ha. (2 points)

The null hypothesis - There is no difference between the new students at the university
and the national student population in the math test score (both have a mean of 500).

The alternative hypothesis - The new students at the university have a higher mean in the
math test than the national student population.

What is the z value (rounded to a whole number)? (2 points)

(550 – 500)/(100/√4)=

= (50)/(100/2)=

=50/50=

=1

Find probability (p-value) (rounded to 3 digits after decimal). (2 points)

According to the z-table, what is the probability of a z score taking a value higher than
(because we are interested in 𝑥̅ (sample mean) − 𝜇 (population mean)) what’s observed
(1) (the z score from previous step)?

Step 1: Find the probability in the z-table (0.84134 = 84.1%)

Step 2: Make adjustments (1 – 0.84134 = 0.159)

Draw conclusions based on the p-value. (2 points)

The z score is 1, p = 0.159 or 16% (it is more than 0.05). Hence, the probability that the
results is due to sampling error is 16%.

This is more than p-value of 0.05 or 5% (accepted convention by which to reject null
hypothesis). Hence, we accept null hypothesis stating that there is no difference between
the new students at the university and the national student population in the math test
score.

If the sample size is increased to 100, then the standard deviation of the sample mean will
become SMALLER (options: larger/smaller), and the estimation of population mean from
the sample mean will become MORE (options: more/less) precise. (2 points)

8) Below are data from a sample of N students about whether they own pet(s). Complete
the row and column totals. (2 points)

Own pet No pet Total

Male students 140 60 200
Female students 160 40 200
Total 300 100 400
Calculate conditional (relative) percentages (rounded to a whole number) to answer the
question: Does gender influence the likelihood of owning pets? Enter the conditional
percentages in the table below. Delete the row or column total if necessary. (4 points)

Own pet No pet Total

Male students 70% 30% 100%
Female students 80% 20% 100%
Total

140/200=70%

60/200=30%

160/200=80%

40/200=20%

The Sun The Times The Guardian Totals

Greenwich 20 80 50 150

Colchester 30 70 50 150

Totals 50 150 100 300

9) Are there equal number of sales of newspapers The Sun, The Times and The Guardian in
Greenwich and Colchester? Is the choice of newspaper independent of area? (6 points)

χ2 test statistic: 2.66

Degrees of freedom: 2

χ2 critical value (α = .05): 5.991

χ2 There are 300 newspapers sold, 150 sold in each area (50%). If choice of newspaper is
independent of area, then we would expect 50% of each type of newspaper being sold in
Greenwich and Colchester students.

The Sun The Times The Guardian Totals

Greenwich 20 (25) 80 (75) 50 (50) 150

Colchester 30 (25) 70 (75) 50 (50) 150

Totals 50 150 100 300

DF DF = (number of categories in one variable – 1)*(number of categories in other
variable – 1) DF = (3 (The Sun, The Times, The Guardian) – 1)*(2 (Greenwich, Colchester) –
1) = 2*1 = 2

Critical value Critical value with DF = 2 is 5.991.

Write an interpretation of the chi-squared test of independence you conducted. (4 points)

As chi-square value is smaller than critical value there is no difference between number of
sales of newspapers The Sun, The Times and The Guardian in Greenwich and Colchester.
The choice of newspaper is independent of area.

A chi-squared test conducted on the relationship between area and type of newspaper
was not significant, χ2(2, 300) = 2.66, p > .05. A similar percentage of newspapers were
sold in Colchester and Greenwich.