Statistical Significance in Published Scientific Works the Research Paper

Total Length: 717 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Statistical Significance in Published Scientific Works

The study I chose to examine is from the field of psychology: Todd, Hanko, Galinsky, and Mussweiler (2011), "When Focusing on Differences Leads to Similar Perspectives. This study was recently published in Psychological Science, a high-impact journal in the field. The research has to do with perspective-taking in conversation; the authors hypothesize that people are better at taking another person's perspective if they are in a "difference mindset" -- i.e. are more aware of interpersonal differences than usual. The authors propose to induce this "difference mindset" by a variety of means, across five experiments. Below, I will discuss the use of statistics in their study and how well they conveyed the size and significance of the results.

Experimental Design

All five experiments used a similar design: participants were randomly assigned to a similarity-mindset, difference-mindset, or control condition. Experiment 1 tested perceptual perspective differences, Experiment 2 tested the impact of the difference mindset on the use of privileged knowledge in interpreting communication, Experiment 3 tested whether the difference mindset would improve reasoning about false beliefs, Experiment 4 tested the impact of the difference mindset on reasoning about racial prejudice-based false beliefs, and Experiment 5 tested whether the difference mindset would improve or hinder interpersonal coordination in a collaborative task.

Statistical Methods

For all five experiments, the authors reported t-tests of the key comparisons followed by One-way ANOVA results.

Stuck Writing Your "Statistical Significance in Published Scientific Works The" Research Paper?

They also reported values for partial Eta squared, a measure of effect size that is analogous to r2 (correlation). For some experiments, they also report d, or probabilistic hit rate, for items in which subjects' accuracy was measured. Values for t, F, and d from Experiments 1-5 can be seen in the table below.

Similarity

Difference

Control

X1: t (78), from Diff.

2.60 (p = 0.01)

Comparison group

2.10 (p = 0.04)

X1: F (2, 78)

Main effect: 3.80 (p = 0.03)

X1: d

0.59

Comparison group

0.48

X2: t (97)

3.30 (p = 0.001)

Comparison group

2.15 (p = 0.3)

X2: F (2, 97)

Main effect: 5.55 (p < 0.01)

X2: d

0.67

Comparison group

0.44

X3: t (39)

3.05 (p < 0.01)

Comparison….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Statistical Significance In Published Scientific Works The" (2011, February 26) Retrieved July 3, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/statistical-significance-published-scientific-11287

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Statistical Significance In Published Scientific Works The" 26 February 2011. Web.3 July. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/statistical-significance-published-scientific-11287>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Statistical Significance In Published Scientific Works The", 26 February 2011, Accessed.3 July. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/statistical-significance-published-scientific-11287