PSY 223 Scenarios and Data Sets
Scenario 1 (Child and Adolescent Development)*
The question was investigated of whether (a) age at which infants start to crawl is related to (b) seasonal
temperature six months after birth. “Six months after birth” was targeted as the period in which babies
typically first try crawling. For a large sample of babies, (a) time at which crawling actually began and (b)
average monthly temperature six months after the birth month were collected. The data are shown
below (also found in the Data Set Scenario 1 Excel file).
Month Average Age Starting to Crawl
(weeks)
Average Temperature 6 Months
After Birth Month (in units
Fahrenheit)
January 29.84 66
February 30.52 73
March 29.70 72
April 31.84 63
May 28.58 52
June 31.44 39
July 33.64 33
August 32.82 30
September 33.83 33
October 33.35 37
November 33.38 48
December 32.32 57

• Adapted from this study: Benson, J. B. (1993). Season of birth and onset of locomotion: Theoretical
  and methodological implications. Infant Behavior and Development, 16, 69–81.
  Scenario 2 (Forensic Psychology)
  Levels of groups’ certainties about their eyewitness testimony to a simulated crime were compared. The
  first group was set up to be “right” in its eyewitness accounts and the second group was set up to be
  “wrong”; the desire was to see if confidence differed across groups. Thirty-four participants were
  recruited from a college campus and randomly divided into two groups, both of which were shown a
  video of a crime scenario (length: 58 seconds) in which the perpetrator’s facial characteristics (with
  respect to the camera) were clearly visible at two separate points and sporadically visible at others. Half
  the participants then were shown a five-individual lineup that contained the perpetrator in the video
  (“Group A”), and half the participants were shown a five-individual lineup that did not contain the
  perpetrator (“Group B”). Participants were asked to (a) identify if and where the perpetrator was in the
  lineup and (b) provide a rating of confidence on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being highly confident) that the
  selection was the same as the person seen in the video committing the crime. All participants signed
  consent forms, were told they could leave the study at any time, and were told they would be debriefed.
  Data on the confidence ratings are shown below (also found in the Data Set Scenario 2 Excel file).
  Group A Confidence Group B Confidence
  07 10
  10 05
  09 05
  10 10
  08 07
  05 06
  10 10
  10 09
  01 03
  10 06
  05 04
  06 10
  07 10
  06 10
  04 03
  05 07
  10 08
  Scenario 3 (Mental Health)
  The efficacy of two kinds of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in relation to a clinical population were
  compared. The therapies differed on the dimension of how wedded they were to the rational-emotive
  behavioral therapy (REBT), a subtype of CBT that emphasizes a directive, confrontational approach to
  encourage a patient to recognize the irrationality of specific thought patterns. Forty adolescents at an
  inpatient clinic for treatment of self-destructive behaviors were randomly divided into two groups of
  equal size, one of which received the less challenging type of CBT (Treatment A) and one of which
  received the more challenging kind of CBT (Treatment B). All patients were treated by trained therapists
  in one-on-one sessions for 1.5 hours per day (broken down into 45-minute sessions) for six weeks. All
  participants were apprised that they were part of a study, all participants signed consent forms, and all
  were told they would be informed of the results at its conclusion; participants exhibiting any behaviors
  that required critical intervention were promptly treated outside the plan of the study. Outcome data
  on the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC)-PAR Edition* collected at the conclusion of six weeks
  as shown below (also found in the Data Set Scenario 3 Excel file).
  Treatment A Treatment B
  74 80
  50 82
  70 49
  60 44
  30 60
  37 65
  34 77
  40 45
  39 51
  70 70
  19 53
  43 16
  25 38
  15 44
  20 29
  55 51
  48 54
  42 46
  60 18
  27 61
• Instrument has been validated for use with the population under consideration.
  Scenario 4 (Addictions)
  The efficacy of a new addiction medication was evaluated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, doubleblind study. The medication in question, Antaquil, is intended to moderate the symptoms of alcohol
  withdrawal and craving with minimum side effects. Over the course of three weeks, a sample of 36
  individuals who were recovering from alcohol addiction were randomly assigned to two groups: one
  administered the medication and one administered a placebo. At the end of the designated period,
  participants were administered the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS), an instrument that
  provides a global measure of thoughts about alcohol during nondrinking periods. Scores can range from
  0 to 40 with higher scores signaling higher levels of rumination about alcohol. Prior to participation
  participants were all informed of the nature of Antaquil and were told they could leave the study at any
  time. Outcome data on the OCDS are shown below (also found in the Data Set Scenario 4 Excel file).
  Treatment Gp Placebo Gp
  40 37
  35 35
  27 34
  18 24
  30 29
  28 14
  11 23
  23 25
  30 32
  13 37
  16 30
  17 30
  26 29
  22 22
  19 23
  17 31
  29 28
  10 20
  Scenario 5 (Social Psychology)
  The question of whether Friday the 13th is an unusually unlucky day or whether this idea is just
  superstition was evaluated. Researchers in the United Kingdom examined the relation between (a)
  numbers of traffic accidents on past Friday the 13ths versus (b) numbers of accidents occurring on
  Friday the 6ths (all between July 1990 and November 1992).* The data shown below were collected
  (also found in the Data Set Scenario 5 Excel file).
  Friday the 6th Friday the 13th
  139,246 138,548
  134,012 132,908
  137,055 136,018
  133,732 131,843
  123,552 121,641
  121,139 118,723
  128,293 125,532
  124,631 120,249
  124,609 122,770
  117,584 117,263
• Adapted from this study: Scanlon, T. J., Luben, R. N., Scanlon, F. L., & Singleton, N. (1993). Is Friday the
  13th bad for your health? BritishMedical Journal, 307, 1584–1586.
  Scenario 6 (Applied Psychology)*
  The question was investigated of whether pleasant aromas help a student learn better. All 21
  participants learned both under a condition of smelling nothing and under a condition of smelling a
  floral scent. Counterbalancing was followed so that some participants learned without the scent first
  and some learned with the scent first. All participants were apprised that the scents were “safe” and
  that if they wished they could leave the study at any time. Data in terms of “time (in seconds) to
  complete a pencil and paper maze” are shown below (also found in the Data Set Scenario 6 Excel file).
  Unscented-Trial Scented-Trial
  38.4 53.1
  46.2 54.7
  72.5 74.2
  38.0 49.6
  82.8 53.6
  33.9 51.3
  50.4 44.1
  35.0 34.0
  32.8 34.5
  60.1 59.1
  75.1 67.3
  57.6 75.5
  55.5 41.1
  49.5 52.2
  40.9 28.3
  44.3 74.9
  93.8 77.5
  47.9 50.9
  75.2 70.1
  46.2 60.3
  56.3 59.9
• Adapted from a study by Hirsch & Johnston at the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation:
  The Data and Story Library. (1996). Retrieved from http: //lib. stat.cmu.edu/DASL/

Sample Solution

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