PSYC 5 CCSF Rats in A Maze Review of Descriptive Statistics Study Essay

Rats in a Maze:

RATS IN A MAZE: REVIEW OF DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS Ch. 1-4

This is a good exercise for you to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts we’ve learned and test your computational skills! You can DO this! 38pts Possible

RATS IN A MAZE Assignment 2020.docx

In a classic study examining the relationship between heredity and intelligence, Robert Tryon (1940) used a selective breeding program to develop separate strains of “smart rats” and “dumb rats”. Tryon started with a large sample of lab rats and tested each animal on a maze-learning problem. Based on their error scores for the maze, Tryon selected the brightest rats and the dullest rats from the sample. The brightest males were mated with the brightest females. Similarly, the dullest rats were interbred. This process of testing and selective breeding was continued for several generations until Tryon had established a line of maze-bright rats and a separate line of maze-dull rats. The following data represents results similar to those obtained by Tryon. The data consist of maze-learning error scores for the original sample of lab rats and the seventh generation of maze–bright rats.

Answer the Following using the data above:

1. What Type of Study is this? (1pt) (Ch.1)
2. What is the Independent Variable (IV)? (2pts) (Ch.1)
3. What is the Dependent Variable (DV)? (2pts) (Ch.1)
4. What is the Scale or Level of Measurement for each variable? (2pts).(Ch.1)
5. What is the Test Condition for this study? (1pt) (Guess-read the study))
6. What are the Hypotheses for this study? (2pts) (Guess-read the study)
7. Sketch in 1 graph not two, a polygon showing the distribution of error scores for the sample of original rats. On the same graph, sketch a polygon for the sample of maze-bright rats. (Use two different colors or use a dashed line for one group and a solid line for the other group.) Based on the graph, describe the differences between the two samples. (6pts) (Ch. 2)
8. Calculate the mean error score for each sample. Does the mean difference support your description from #7? Interpret your results in complete sentences. (3pts).(Ch.3)
9. Calculate the variance and standard deviation for each sample. Based on the measures of dispersion or variability, Is one group more diverse than the other? Is one group more homogeneous that the other? Interpret your results. (12pts) (Ch.4)
10. Find the Q1, Median, Q3, IQR for each sample. (3pts) (Ch.3)
11. Create a boxplot for each sample! (4pts) (See the YouTube video)Intro to box plots-YouTube