Although most things psychologists are interested in are measured on a nominal and ordinal scale of measurement, we often treat our data as interval in order to:
A) perform non-parametric tests of statistical analysis.
B) use parametric tests of statistical analysis.
C) apply methods of analysis that are more scientific.
D) perform descriptive statistics.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We often treat our data as interval in order to use parametric tests of statistical analysis, such as t-tests and ANOVAs, which assume interval data. Non-parametric tests can also be used with nominal and ordinal data, but they may be less powerful than parametric tests. Descriptive statistics can be performed on data regardless of its scale of measurement. The statement that treating data as interval allows for more scientific methods of analysis is not accurate, as the scientific rigor of a method is not determined by the scale of measurement used.

Although Most Things Psychologists Are Interested in Are Measured on a Nominal