Understanding Variability in Therapy Outcomes

Very Hard Unit 1: Scientific Foundations Statistical Analysis

In psychological research, it is crucial to analyze datasets accurately to draw valid conclusions. Researchers often use various statistical measures to describe the characteristics of their data and identify relationships. One key facet of this is understanding measures of variability, which provide insight into the dispersion or spread of scores within a sample. Consider a researcher who compares two groups of participants who underwent different types of therapy. After analyzing the therapy outcomes using the standard deviation, the researcher finds that one group's scores are significantly more variable than the other. Which of the following statements about the implications of this variability is most accurate?

A higher standard deviation indicates therapy effectiveness is consistent across participants.

A lower standard deviation signifies that therapy outcomes are more predictable.

Greater variability suggests that therapy may affect participants differently.

Standard deviation provides no insight into the mean scores of the groups.

Variability in scores cannot be compared unless the means are identical.

Hint

Submitted6.9K

Correct6.3K

% Correct90%