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) January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December 29.84
30.52
29.70
31.84
28.58
31.44
33.64
32.82
33.83
33.35
33.38
32.32 Average Temperature 6 Months
After Birth Month (in units
Fahrenheit)
66
73
72
63
52
39
33
30
33
37
48
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 22
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/

Attachments:

• 1506953332-psy223_scenarios_and_data_sets1.pdf