Statistical Analysis in AP Psychology

Dr. Swope from Northwest High School presents a virtual review session for AP Psychology, focusing on statistics. The session covers the distinction between descriptive and inferential statistics, the application of basic statistical concepts, and the importance of operational definitions. Dr. Swope explains the significance of variables, confounding variables, and ethical considerations in research. The lesson also delves into inferential statistics, discussing statistical significance, p-values, and common errors. Descriptive statistics are explored, including central tendency and graphical representations like bar charts and histograms.

What are the two main types of statistics discussed?

• Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

• Experimental and Observational Statistics

• Theoretical and Applied Statistics

• Qualitative and Quantitative Statistics

Which measure of central tendency is most affected by outliers?

• Median

• Mode

• Mean

• Range

What is the purpose of descriptive statistics?

• To test hypotheses

• To predict future trends

• To describe the main features of a collection of data

• To infer trends from data

What does a p-value less than 0.05 typically indicate?

• The sample size is too small

• The results are not significant

• The results are likely due to chance

• The results are statistically significant

What is the null hypothesis in inferential statistics?

• There will be a significant relationship

• There will not be a significant relationship

• The sample size can predict the population

• The variables are not related

What does inferential statistics allow researchers to do?

• Identify outliers in the data

• Describe data from large populations

• Infer characteristics from a small sample to a larger population

• Calculate the mean, median, and mode

What is the significance of the standard deviation in a dataset?

• It measures the central tendency

• It indicates the range of the data

• It shows how spread out the data are from the mean

• It calculates the average value of the dataset

What is an example of a cognitive bias mentioned?

• Out-group homogeneity

• Confirmation bias

• In-group favoritism

• Sampling bias

What does a negative z-score indicate?

• The data is not normally distributed

• The score is equal to the mean

• The score is below the mean

• The score is above the mean

Which type of error occurs when researchers incorrectly reject a true null hypothesis?

• Type II error

• Type I error

• Non-sampling error

• Sampling error