SPSS Homework: Variability Assignment Instructions
Overview
This assignment is designed to increase your statistical literacy and proficiency in summarizing, visualizing, and interpreting variability within data sets. You will work within SPSS, using data that are related to specific research scenarios in the behavioral sciences such as psychology, social work, and counseling. A working knowledge of how to summarize and visualize data 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 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 respond to a series of questions asking you to create and interpret various tables and charts in SPSS. Paste your SPSS output directly into the homework underneath each relevant question. Type written answers into the document underneath the question to which they relate.
- This assignment is worth 60 points.
review the Watch: SPSS Homework Tutorial: Describing and Graphing Variability in this module for directions on how to enter data in SPSS and use it to produce the final product for your assignment. The scenarios begin on the next page.
Problem Set 1: A forensic psychologist wants to examine the level of narcissistic personality traits in those who are diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and those who do not qualify for ASPD within a local prison population. She administers a measure of narcissistic personality traits where higher scores indicate higher levels of narcissism and scores range from 0–35. Name your variables in Variable View. Assign values to the “Diagnosis” variable as follows: 1 = ASPD; 2 = no ASPD.
| Diagnosis | Narcissism Score |
| 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 |
33
8 20 26 27 9 17 27 34 32 12 8 18 12 6 5 8 14 10 6 |
- Using the data in the table above, set up your data file in SPSS and create a table of Descriptive Statistics using the “Explore” function that shows descriptive statistics for ASPD and no ASPD diagnoses separately. Paste the table here: (8 pts)
- What is the standard deviation of narcissism scores in the ASPD group? (4 pts)
- Compare the means of each group (ASPD and no ASPD). What can you say about the narcissism scores of the ASPD group compared to the no ASPD group? (5 pts)
- Using the same data, create a boxplot in SPSS to show the difference in narcissism scores between the two diagnostic groups. Paste the boxplot here: (7 pts)
- Based on the boxplot and descriptive statistics, which group shows more variability in narcissism scores? Support your answer with knowledge from the presentations and/or reading from this week. (6 pts)
Problem Set 2: A school psychologist wants to examine the difference in the minutes that middle school students spend working on a difficult math problem depending on whether they have been primed with a statement reflecting a fixed mindset or one reflecting a growth mindset. She divides her students into two groups: one is primed with the statement that “Some people are just better at math” (fixed mindset), while the other group is primed with the statement that “People can improve in math with hard work” (growth mindset) She records the number of minutes each student works on the math problem in the table below. She assigns values to the Mindset Group variable as follows: 1 = Fixed; 2 = Growth.
| Mindset Group (1 = Fixed; 2 = Growth) | Minutes Spent on Difficult Math Problem |
| 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 |
2.5
1.2 1.9 2.0 0.6 1.4 3.7 0.9 0.7 2.1 3.8 1.8 1.3 2.4 4.6 3.5 1.7 1.4 6.6 |
- Using the data in the table above, set up a data file in SPSS and create a table of descriptive statistics using the “Explore” command for each “Mindset” group separately. Paste the table here: (8 pts)
- Compare the means of the two groups. Which group worked longer on average on the difficult math problem? (4 pts)
- Using the same data, create a paneled histogram showing the distribution of minutes spent working on the problem in each sample. Paste the histogram here: (7 pts)
- Based on the histogram and “Explore” table of descriptive statistics, are these distributions symmetrical or skewed? If skewed, what kind of skew is present? Support your answer with the appropriate data. (5 pts)
- Based on the data, what might the school psychologist conclude about the effect of mindset statements on students’ effort levels in solving difficult math problems? Answer in 2-3 complete sentences. (6 pts)
