PSYC 355
SPSS H : I T AOMEWORK NDEPENDENT-SAMPLES T EST SSIGNMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This assignment is designed to increase your statistical literacy and proficiency in conducting
and interpreting the independent-samples test. You will be completing two independent-t
samples tests in SPSS, using data that are related to specific research scenarios in the behavioralt
sciences, such as psychology, social work, and counseling. Behind the scenes knowledge of how
this test is conducted is fundamental to being able to understand and apply research in your
related field to your practice. Additionally, SPSS skills are professionally valuable, as it is one of
the most commonly used statistical software packages in behavioral science settings, both
academic and professional.
INSTRUCTIONS
This assignment includes two problem sets that contain research scenarios and related
questions.
For each scenario, you will run an analysis in SPSS. The required product will include
the SPSS output, an APA-style Results section describing the results, and the appropriate
graph inserted as a Figure in current APA style.
For each scenario, you will create a new SPSS data file with the data from the problem
scenario. ALL variable names in your SPSS data files must include your initials, so that
they show up in your SPSS output and graph For example, for someone with the initials .
ABC creating a variable of memory scores, the variable could be named
“ABC_mem_scores” or “Mem_Scores_ABC”, etc.
For all problems, interpret results based on an alpha level of a = ..05
Please review the Watch: SPSS Homework Tutorial for the Independent Samples t test
in this module for directions on how to run the statistical test, as well as the Watch: Results
Sections for the Independent-samples t test in APA Style, which includes a template for
completing the APA-style Results sections for the independent-samples test. The scenarios t
begin on the next page.
PSYC 355
Factual
Informative
Scenario
Anecdotal
“Identifiable
Victim” Scenario
25
10
25
15
30
20
10
15
45
15
35
35
30
50
45
30
Paste SPSS output. (10 pts)
Group Statistics
Factual_Information_Scena
rio_SLB N
Mea
n
Std.
Deviati
on
Std.
Erro
r
Me
an
Anecdotal_Identifiable_Victim_Sce
nario_SLB
Factual 8 18.7
5
7.440 2.6
31
Anecdotal 8 35.6
3
11.160 3.9
46
Problem Set 1: The independent-samples testt
Research Scenario: A social psychologist working for a marketing department wants to
study the effect of scenario descriptions on charitable giving to a child hunger organization.
He devises two scenarios: one in which an employee of the charity describes child hunger
using facts and information (Group 1), and one in which an employee of the charity describes
child hunger using an anecdotal example with one “identifiable victim” (Small, 2016) (Group
2). Eight people are interviewed in each group. After hearing the employee read the child
hunger scenario, the participants are then asked to state how much money they would donate
to the charity to help end child hunger. The data appear in the table below.
Using this table, enter the data into a new SPSS data file and run an independent-
samples t test to determine to determine whether there is a in the amount of difference
money donated between the two groups. Remember to put your initials within any and all
variable names. Create a boxplot to show the difference between the groups. Follow the
directions below the table to complete this problem set.
PSYC 355
Independent Samples Test
Leven
e's
Test
for
Equal
ity of
Varia
nces t-test for Equality of Means
F
Si
g. t df
Signific
ance
Mean
Differ
ence
Std.
Error
Differ
ence
95%
Confide
nce
Interval
of the
Differen
ce
On
e-
Sid
ed
p
Tw
o-
Sid
ed
p
Low
er
Up
per
Anecdotal_Identifiable_Victi
m_Scenario_SLB
Equa
l
varia
nces
assu
med
.5
8
0
.4
59
-
3.5
58
14 .00
2
.00
3
-
16.87
5
4.742 -
27.
046
-
6.7
04
Equa
l
varia
nces
not
assu
med
-
3.5
58
12.
196
.00
2
.00
4
-
16.87
5
4.742 -
27.
189
-
6.5
61
Write an APA-style Results section based on your analysis. Include your boxplot as an APA-
style Figure, with figure number and title, as demonstrated in the Results section presentation.
(Results = 12 pts; Figure = 8 pts)
PSYC 355
Results
An independent-samples t test was conducted to determine whether there is a difference
in the amount of money given between two groups: one in which an employee of the charity
describes child hunger using facts and information (Group 1), and one in which an employee of
the charity describes child hunger using an anecdotal example with one "identifiable
victim"(Small, 2016) (Group 2).The results show that those in the factual condition (M= 18.00,
SD=7.44) did not give a significantly greater amount of money than those in the anecdotal
condition (M= 35.63,SD= 11.16), t(14) = -3.56, p = .459. Based on these results, we fail to reject
the null hypothesis that there is no difference in the amount of money given between the two
groups.
Figure 1
Anecdotal Identifiable Victim Scenario SLB
PSYC 355
(CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
Daily
Activities
33
22
27
16
29
30
21
36
13
10
No Daily
Activities
24
8
20
16
16
9
12
25
13
19
12
1. Paste SPSS output. (10 pts)
2. Write an APA-style Results section based on your analysis. Include your boxplot as an
APA-style Figure, with figure number and title, as demonstrated in the Results section
presentation. (Results = 12 pts; Figure = 8 pts)
Problem Set 2: The independent-samples testt
Research Scenario: A researcher wants to investigate whether residents at an assisted living
facility who attend daily activities have higher life satisfaction than those who do not. The
researcher administers the Satisfaction with Life Scale ( ). Did residents Diener et al., 1985
who attend daily activities (n = 10) have higher SLS scores than those who did not (n = 11)?
Using this table, enter the data into a new SPSS data file and run an independent-
samples t test to evaluate the claim that residents who attended daily activities have
higher SLS scores than those who did not. Remember to put your initials within any and
all variable names. Create a boxplot to show the difference between the groups. Follow
the directions below the table to complete the homework.
