INFERENTIAL

STATISTICS
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Review of terminologies relevant to hypothesis testing:

Samples and Populations:

• Population – consists of an entire collection of events of
interest
• Sample – a smaller part (or subset) of the population

Inferential Statistics
• are statistical procedures that use samples to make
generalizations about populations.
• are extremely useful because they allow us to draw
conclusions about populations based on limited
information
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Review of terminologies relevant to hypothesis testing:

Hypothesis Testing:
• Null Hypothesis – typically states that a treatment did not
have an effect
• Alternative Hypothesis – states that the treatment had an
effect

One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Tests

• Two-Tailed Test – used when a treatment is evaluated to
see whether it has an impact in either direction (to see if
scores are higher or lower)
• One-Tailed Test – used when the intent is to investigate
only a single direction (only higher or only lower)
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Review of terminologies relevant to hypothesis testing:

Type I and Type II Errors:

• Type I Error – occurs if the null hypothesis is rejected
when it is true.
• Type II Error – occurs if the null hypothesis is not rejected
when it is false.

Power:
• concerned with making a correct decision
• it is equal to the probability of rejecting the null
hypothesis when it is false.
• it ranges form 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater
power.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Review of terminologies relevant to hypothesis testing:

Sampling Error:
• The discrepancy between the sample and the population is
know as sampling error.

p - values:
• Indicates the exact probability of obtaining the specific
results (or results even more extreme) if the null hypothesis
is true. (In SPSS, the p-value is reported as “sig.”
• Process of evaluating the p-value:
a. If the p-value is less than or equal to .05 (alpha), the
null hypothesis is rejected
b. If the p-value is greater than .05 (alpha), the null
hypothesis is not rejected
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Review of terminologies relevant to hypothesis testing:

The decision process for hypothesis testing is summarized as:

p – value (reported as “sig.” in SPSS Decision
If p ≤ .05 Reject the null hypothesis
If p > .05 Do not reject the null hypothesis

Example p-value Decision Interpretation

(using an alpha of .05)
1 .02 Reject Ho Side with the Ha
(“Significant” or
“Statistically Significant)
2 .080 Do not Reject Ho Side with the Ho
(“Not Significant”)
3 .521 Do not Reject Ho Side with the Ho
(“Not Significant”)
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Review of terminologies relevant to hypothesis testing:

Effect Size:
• Indicate the magnitude of the results in the study
• Describes the degree of difference between the groups
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING:
1. Determine the Independent and Dependent Variables.
2. Constructing a Research Question
3. Formulating Hypotheses (Null and Alternative)

Example 1:
Researchers have often noted increases in violent crimes when
it is very hot. In fact, Reifman and Frein (1991) noted that this
relationship even extends to baseball. That is, there is much greater
chance of a batter being hit by a pitch when the temperature
increases. Suppose that over the past 30 years, during any given
week of the major-league season, an average of µ = 12 players are
hit by wild pitches. Assume that the distribution is nearly normal
with σ = 3. For a sample of n = 4 weeks in which the daily
temperature was extremely hot, the weekly average of hit-by-pitch
players was M = 15.5.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING:
1. Determine the Independent and Dependent Variables.
2. Constructing a Research Question
3. Formulating Hypotheses (Null and Alternative)

Example 2:
A research is testing the hypothesis that consuming a sports
drink during exercise will improve endurance. A sample on n = 50
male college students is obtained and each student is given a series
of three endurance tasks and asked to consume 4 ounces of the
drink during each break between tasks. The overall endurance score
for this sample is M = 53. For the general population without any
sports drink, the scores for this task average µ = 50 with a standard
deviation of σ =12.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING:
1. Determine the Independent and Dependent Variables.
2. Constructing a Research Question
3. Formulating Hypotheses (Null and Alternative)

Example 3:
A researcher is investigating the effectiveness of a new study-
skills training program for elementary school children. A sample of
25 third grade children is selected to participate in the program and
each child is given a standardized achievement test at the end of the
year. For the regular population of third grade children, scores on
the test form a normal distribution with a mean of µ = 150 and a
standard deviation of σ = 25. The mean for the sample is M = 158.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING:
1. Determine the Independent and Dependent Variables.
2. Constructing a Research Question
3. Formulating Hypotheses (Null and Alternative)

Example 4:
Although there is a popular belief that herbal remedies such as
Ginkgo biloba and Ginseng may improve learning and memory in
healthy adults, these effects are usually not supported by well-
controlled research. In a typical study, A researcher obtains a
sample of n = 36 participants and has each person take the herbal
supplements every day for 90 days. At the end of the 90 days, each
person takes a standardized memory test. For the general
population, scores from the test are normally distributed with a
mean of µ = 80 and a standard deviation of σ = 18. The sample of
research participants had an average of M = 84.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING:
1. Determine the Independent and Dependent Variables.
2. Constructing a Research Question
3. Formulating Hypotheses (Null and Alternative)
Example 5:
Infants, even newborns, prefer to look at attractive faces
compared to less attractive faces. In the study, infants from 1 to 6
days old were shown two photographs of women’s faces. Previously,
a group of adults had rated one of the faces as significantly more
attractive than the other. The babies were positioned in front of a
screen on which the photographs were presented. The pair of faces
remained on the screen until the baby accumulated a total of 20
seconds of looking at one or the other. The number of seconds
looking at the attractive face was recorded for each infant. Suppose
that the study used a sample of n = 9 infants and the data produced an
average of M = 13 seconds for the attractive face.
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
HYPOTHESIS TESTING:
1. Determine the Independent and Dependent Variables.
2. Constructing a Research Question
3. Formulating Hypotheses (Null and Alternative)

Example 6:
A psychologist is investigating the hypothesis that children who
grow up as the only child in the household develop different
personality characteristics than those who grow up in larger
families. A sample of n = 30 only children is obtained and each
child is given a standardized personality test. For the general
population, scores on the test from a normal distribution with a
mean of µ = 50 and a standard deviation of σ = 15. The mean for
the sample is M = 58.
 THE
ONE-SAMPLE t TEST
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST

• Used when the mean of one sample is compared to some

known or estimated population mean.
• The sample is typically different from the population is
some way, and the question of interest is whether the
mean of the sample differs significantly from the mean of
the population on a dependent variable of interest.

Example 1:
An industrial psychologist hired by a leading accounting firm
wanted to know if the average number of hours worked per week at
the firm was significantly different from the national average of 52
hours for accountants. The industrial psychologist randomly
sampled 16 people from different divisions within the firm and
recorded the average number of hours they worked per week over a
three-month period.
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST

Objective and Data Requirements of the One-Sample t Test

Objective Data Example
Requirements
To determine whether One sample of
the mean of a sample participants
differs significantly Dependent
from some known or variable:
estimated population Continuous
mean
ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
The Data
Participant Hours worked Participant Hours worked
per week per week
1 54 9 71
2 48 10 60
3 68 11 55
4 53 12 63
5 60 13 68
6 45 14 64
7 57 15 56
8 62 16 60
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
Data Entry and Analysis in SPSS
Step 1: Create the Variables
Use hoursweek.
Step 2: Enter the Data
Step 3: Analyze the Data
1. From the menu bar, select Analyze > Compare Means >
One-Sample T Test…
2. A One-Sample T Test dialog box appears with variable
hoursweek in the left-hand side of the dialog box.
3. Select the dependent variable, hoursweek, and click the
right-arrow button to move it into the Test Variable(s) box.
4. In the Test Value box, enter 52. (This is the value that is
specified in the null hypothesis. Be sure to always enter the
value specified in the null hypothesis into the Test Value
box when performing a one-sample t test in SPSS.)
5. Click OK.
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST

Data Entry and Analysis in SPSS

Step 4: Interpret the Results
The Mean Difference of 7.00 is
equal to the difference between
the mean number of hours
worked per week at the leading
accounting firm (59), and the
value of 52 (the population for
accountants) specified in the
null hypothesis.

Since the p-value of .001 is less than .05,

the null hypothesis is rejected.
ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST

Data Entry and Analysis in SPSS

Step 4: Interpret the Results
Expression of the Results in APA Format
For each of the chapters, a write-up of the results will be
provided using the format of the American Psychological
Association (APA).

Employees at a leading accounting firm (M = 59.0, SD =

7.15) work significantly more hours per week than the national
average of 52 hours, t(15) = 3.918, p < .05, d = .98.
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
Summary of Steps for Conducting a One-Sample t Test
I. Data Entry and Analysis
1. Create one variable in SPSS.
2. Enter the data.
3. From the menu bar, select Analyze > Compare Means >
One-Sample T Test…
4. Move the dependent variable to the Test Variable(s) box.
5. In the Test Value box, enter the value specified in the null
hypothesis.
6. Click OK.
II. Interpretation of the Results
1. Check the p-value (reported as “sig.” (2-tailed) in the One-
Sample Test table.
• If p ≤ .05, the null hypothesis is rejected.
• If p > .05, the null hypothesis is not rejected.
Write the results in APA Format.
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
Example 2:
For a research project, a student wanted to test whether people who
claim to be successful at picking winning teams in football are able to
select “winners” at different than chance levels (i.e. picking winners more
or less than 50% of the time). She identifies 15 people who advertise their
ability to pick “winners” and records the percentage of correct picks for
each person over an entire football season. The percentage of correct picks
for the 15 prognosticators is presented in the table below.
Prognosticator Percentage Prognosticator Percentage Prognosticator Percentage
of correct of correct of correct
picks picks picks
1 45 6 43 11 52
2 46 7 47 12 50
3 47 8 38 13 48
4 52 9 53 14 47
5 51 10 51 15 51
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
Example 3:
The mean score on a standardized math skills test is known to
be 50 for the entire U.S. population of fourth graders (with higher
scores indicating better performance on the exam). A new math
skills training program was being used at a local school district, and
an administrator was charged with the task of evaluating whether
the children under the new program have performance that is
different from the national average. Twenty-five fourth graders who
were instructed using the math skills program were administered
the standardized math exam. (named variable as mathscore)
a. State a research question.
b. State the null and alternative hypotheses
c. Compute for the effect size.
d. Write the result of the study using APA format as appropriate.
 ONE – SAMPLE t TEST
Example 3:
Student Math Student Math Student Math
Score Score Score
1 55 10 54 19 58
2 40 11 45 20 52
3 58 12 48 21 47
4 62 13 61 22 56
5 57 14 44 23 42
6 45 15 68 24 51
7 50 16 38 25 67
8 72 17 73
9 68 18 75