Briefly describe the "law of large numbers." In what ways do people understand, or misunderstand, its implications? How does this relate to sample selection? Briefly discuss some of the implications for psychological research.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is a. Small sample sizes can have high variability, and so are not good estimates of population characteristics compared to larger samples).
b. People tend to believe that increasing the size of the predictor sample of events increased prediction power.
c. Without random sampling, the sample population can be biased by selection factors, and the resulting sample population would not be highly representative of the overall population.
d. For research, it is important to pay attention to potential biases in sample selection, otherwise generalizability of the findings is compromised.

Briefly Describe the "Law of Large Numbers