1. Research has found that, on average, men have better spatial abilities than women have. John and Jessica are both taking a test that measures their spatial abilities. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Although men have, on average, higher scores on such tests, we cannot predict with certainty that John will get a higher score.
B. Although men have, on average, higher scores on such tests, it is equally likely that Jessica will get a higher score.
C. Because men have, on average, higher scores on such tests, John will score higher than Jessica.
D. John will score near the average for men and Jessica will score near the average for women.
2. Finding a difference between the mean scores of two groups is most helpful for which of the following?
A. determining what is true for individuals in each group
B. evaluating how important any differences in variance are
C. discovering and testing factors that possibly are causing the difference
D. all the above
3. On average, young adults sleep about 8 hours per night, with 95% sleeping between 6.5 and 9.5 hours per night. Based on this information, how much sleep do you need per night?
A. The information is not relevant for deciding how much sleep you need per night.
B. The information is not relevant for deciding how much sleep people get per night.
C. According to the information, you should get 8.5 hours of sleep per night.
D. According to the information, you should get between 6.5 and 9.5 hours of sleep per night.
4. Which of the following people should be worried about the number of hours of sleep they get per night?
A. Jamal, who sleeps only about 4 hours per night.
B. Jacinta, who sleeps about 10 hours per night.
C. Jaime, who sleeps about 6 hours per night.
D. none of the above
5. On average, people who smoke die at a younger age than people who do not smoke. Furthermore, on average, men die at a younger age than women. Tara and Stephen are the same age. She smokes but he does not. Who will die first?
A. Even though she is a female, Tara will die first because she smokes.
B. Even though he does not smoke, Steven will die first because he is a man.
C. There is no way to predict with certainty who will die first because the two negative influences cancel each other out.
D. There is no way to predict with certainty who will die first because averages tell us what is true for groups, not individuals.
7. A 25-year-old, white, non-Hispanic man is 5' 4" tall, much shorter than the average height for his age and ethnic group. Can we conclude that this man, when he was growing up, must have suffered from a disease, been exposed to an environmental toxin, or experienced some other serious problem?
A. Yes: the fact that he is 6 inches shorter than the average height for his age and ethnic group means that something went wrong during his development.
B. No: a number of factors, such as the genes he inherited from his parents, may explain why he is 6 inches shorter than the average height for his age and ethnic group.
C. Yes: men who are much shorter than other males and much closer to the average height of women probably unconsciously identify with women because of poor childhood interactions with their father or mother.
D. No: the most likely time period for the kinds of problems that he must have experienced occurs before birth, not when he was growing up.
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