Short Answer

If a marketing researcher wants to apply the last name effect to a new campaign, how should they use the alphabetical position of the consumers' last names (from A = 11 to Z = 2626) to predict who will respond the fastest, and why does this represent a negative correlation?

Question: If a marketing researcher wants to apply the last name effect to a new campaign, how should they use the alphabetical position of the consumers' last names (from A = 11 to Z = 2626) to predict who will respond the fastest, and why does this represent a negative correlation?

Sample answer: The researcher would predict that consumers with last names starting with letters later in the alphabet (closer to Z, with higher alphabetical values) will respond the fastest. This represents a negative correlation because an increase in the alphabetical position of the last name is associated with a decrease in the response time value (faster response).

Key points:

  • Predict that consumers with last names closer to the end of the alphabet (closer to Z) respond fastest.
  • Explain that this is due to a negative correlation/relationship.
  • Identify that as alphabetical position increases, response time value decreases (faster response).

Rubric: The answer should apply the last name effect by predicting that individuals with last names later in the alphabet (higher alphabetical position) will respond fastest (lower response time), and explain that this is a negative correlation because the variables move in opposite directions (as position increases, time value decreases).

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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