AP®PsychologyCollege BoardExam QuestionsResearch MethodsData Handling: Inferential Statistics

Data Handling: Inferential Statistics (College Board AP® Psychology): Exam Questions

2 mins2 questions
1
1 mark

A researcher tests whether a new therapy reduces anxiety scores compared to a control group. The results show a p value of 0.03. Using a significance level of 0.05, which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of this result?

  • The therapy is guaranteed to reduce anxiety in all patients

  • The difference between groups is statistically significant, and the null hypothesis can be rejected

  • The result is not statistically significant, so the null hypothesis should be retained

  • The p value indicates that the therapy has a large effect on anxiety

Choose your answer

2
1 mark

A researcher conducts a study and finds no significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p = 0.42). However, the actual effect does exist in the population. Which of the following best describes this outcome?

  • A Type I error, because the null hypothesis was incorrectly rejected

  • A Type I error, because the researcher found a significant result when there was none

  • A Type II error, because the researcher failed to detect a real effect

  • A replication failure, because the study could not reproduce previous findings

Choose your answer