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The article "Religion and Well-Being Among Canadian University Students: The Role of Faith Groups on Campus" (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion \([1994]: 62-73\) ) compared the self-esteem of students who belonged to Christian clubs and students who did not belong to such groups. Each student in a random sample of \(n=169\) members of Christian groups (the affiliated group) completed a questionnaire designed to measure self-esteem. The same questionnaire was also completed by each student in a random sample of \(n=124\) students who did not belong to a religious club (the unaffiliated group). The mean self-esteem score for the affiliated group was \(25.08\), and the mean for the unaffiliated group was \(24.55 .\) The sample standard deviations weren't given in the article, but suppose that they were 10 for the affiliated group and 8 for the unaffiliated group. Is there evidence that the true mean self- esteem score differs for affiliated and unaffiliated students? Test the relevant hypotheses using a significance level of \(.01\).

Short Answer

Expert verified
Based on the hypothesis testing with a significance level of 0.01, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the true mean self-esteem score differs between the affiliated and unaffiliated groups. The test statistic (~0.553) did not exceed the critical values (~±2.58), hence the null hypothesis was not rejected.

Step by step solution

01

Set up the hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) is that the true mean self-esteem scores of the two groups are equal, and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is that they are not equal. That is: \(H0: µ1 = µ2\) and \(Ha: µ1 ≠ µ2\) where µ1 and µ2 represent the true mean self-esteem scores of the affiliated and unaffiliated group, respectively.
02

Calculate the standard error

The standard error of the difference between the two sample means can be calculated using the formula \(\sqrt{{s1^2/n1 + s2^2/n2}}\), where \(s1 = 10\) (the standard deviation of the affiliated group), \(s2 = 8\) (the standard deviation of the unaffiliated group), \(n1 = 169\) (the sample size of the affiliated group), and \(n2 = 124\) (the sample size of the unaffiliated group). This equals to approximately 0.958.
03

Calculate the test statistic

The test statistic is calculated as the observed difference in sample means, divided by the standard error. Here, the observed difference in sample means (\(x1 - x2\)) is \(25.08 - 24.55 = 0.53\). So the test statistic is \(0.53/0.958 \approx 0.553\).
04

Determine the critical value

Using a significance level of 0.01, and given that this is a two-tailed test (because the alternative hypothesis is that the means are 'not equal'), the critical value from the t-distribution table is approximately ±2.58 (using degrees of freedom \(df = min(n1-1,n2-1) = min(168,123) = 123\)).
05

Make a decision

Since the test statistic does not fall in the critical region (i.e., it is not less than -2.58 or greater than 2.58), we will fail to reject the null hypothesis, meaning there is insufficient evidence at this significance level to conclude that the true mean self-esteem score differs for affiliated and unaffiliated students.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Self-Esteem Measurement
Self-esteem measurement is an essential tool in psychological research, which gauges an individual's overall perception of their value or worth. In studies like the one mentioned, self-esteem is typically assessed using validated questionnaires or scales. These tools involve statements related to personal traits, feelings, or behaviors, to which participants respond in a structured manner, often using a Likert scale.

The results, which are numerical scores, help quantify the level of self-esteem among individuals or groups. When comparing different groups, as in our exercise, these scores can be used to find differences in self-esteem levels among members of Christian clubs versus those who are unaffiliated with religious groups. It's important to remember that the validity of the conclusions drawn from self-esteem measurements depends on the questionnaire's reliability and the representativeness of the sample used.
Significance Level
The significance level is a crucial concept in hypothesis testing that defines the threshold for determining when to reject the null hypothesis. In this exercise, the significance level is set at 0.01. This means there is a 1% risk of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is actually true, also known as a Type I error.

Choosing a 0.01 significance level indicates a more stringent standard for evidence compared to the commonly used 0.05 level. Researchers set this threshold before conducting the test to avoid bias in interpretation. In simpler terms, it helps in deciding how much "proof" is needed to say that a difference between groups is statistically significant, rather than due to random chance.
t-Distribution
The t-distribution is a probability distribution often used in hypothesis testing, particularly when dealing with small sample sizes or unknown population variances. It resembles the normal distribution but has thicker tails, which makes it more accommodating of outliers or sample variance.

For our exercise, the t-distribution was used to obtain a critical value, which in this case is ±2.58 for a significance level of 0.01. This value serves as a cutoff in a two-tailed test to determine whether the test statistic calculated from the sample falls into the rejection region, calling into question the null hypothesis. As sample size increases, the t-distribution closely resembles the standard normal distribution, which is used when we have exact population parameters.
Two-Sample t-Test
A two-sample t-test is a statistical method used to compare the means of two independent groups and determine if there is a statistically significant difference between them. In the example provided, researchers wanted to know if the self-esteem scores of students in Christian clubs were different from those of unaffiliated students.

This test involves several steps:
  • Formulating null and alternative hypotheses.
  • Calculating the standard error of the mean difference.
  • Computing the test statistic.
  • Comparing this statistic to the critical value from the t-distribution.

In this scenario, when the test statistic (0.553) does not exceed the critical value (±2.58), we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This means there isn't enough statistical evidence at a 0.01 significance level to say that the self-esteem scores differ between the two groups.

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