A social psychologist investigated whether there was a correlation between the number of hours spent reading for pleasure per week and individuals' empathy scores.
The researcher randomly selected 15 young adults from a local college. Each participant logged their reading hours for a week and then completed a validated empathy assessment (rated from 0 to 50).
The researcher proposed a directional (one-tailed) hypothesis predicting a positive correlation between the two variables. The calculated Spearman's rho correlation coefficient was rs=0.415r_s = 0.415rs=0.415.
Table 1: Critical values of Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rho)
| Level of significance for a one-tailed test | 0.05 | 0.025 |
| Level of significance for a two-tailed test | 0.10 | 0.05 |
|---|---|---|
| N = 12 | 0.506 | 0.591 |
| N = 13 | 0.483 | 0.566 |
| N = 14 | 0.464 | 0.545 |
| N = 15 | 0.447 | 0.525 |
| N = 16 | 0.429 | 0.507 |
Note: The calculated value of rho must be greater than or equal to the critical value for the relationship to be marked as statistically significant.
Using the information above, explain whether the researcher's hypothesis should be accepted.
121 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Inferential testing (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.