Based on Dr. Aris's research design, if her hypothesis is supported, what specific pattern of results should she observe when comparing a student with high stress levels to a student with low stress levels? State what type of correlation this represents and justify your answer using the variables measured.
Case context: Dr. Aris is conducting a study on undergraduate students during final exams week. She measures their psychological stress levels using a standardized questionnaire and assesses their immune system functioning by measuring salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels. She expects to find a negative correlation between stress and immune functioning in her sample.
Question: Based on Dr. Aris's research design, if her hypothesis is supported, what specific pattern of results should she observe when comparing a student with high stress levels to a student with low stress levels? State what type of correlation this represents and justify your answer using the variables measured.
Sample answer: If Dr. Aris's hypothesis is supported, she should observe that students with higher stress scores on the questionnaire have lower salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels, indicating poorer immune functioning. Conversely, students with lower stress scores should have higher sIgA levels. This pattern represents a negative correlation because the variables move in opposite directions, with higher scores on stress associating with lower scores on immune functioning.
Key points:
- Predict that high stress scores correspond to lower salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels.
- Predict that low stress scores correspond to higher sIgA levels.
- Identify the expected relationship as a negative correlation.
- Explain that a negative correlation is defined by variables moving in opposite (inverse) directions.
Rubric: Full credit requires the student to apply the concept of negative correlation to the scenario by predicting that high stress corresponds to low sIgA (immune functioning) and low stress corresponds to high sIgA, explicitly identifying this as a negative correlation, and explaining that the variables move in opposite directions.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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