Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class. In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem. Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced. I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem. Could you predict one from the other?"
Anton is concerned that the researcher made a Type I error. What does that mean?
A)The researcher failed to consider a third variable.
B)The researcher concluded there was a relationship, but there isn't really one.
C)The researcher failed to establish the first rule of causation.
D)The researcher concluded there was not a relationship, but there really is one.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A Type I error occurs when the researcher concludes there is a relationship between two variables, but in reality, there is not. It is also known as a false positive. In this case, the researcher concluded that there is a relationship between being bullied and having low self-esteem, but it is possible that there is not actually a significant relationship, and the results occurred by chance.

Anton and His Friends Are Discussing a Study He Read