Sign in
hypothetical data
Before you begin the assignment:
• Read Chapter 8 in your Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics textbook.
• Review the video tutorial for an overview of conducting multiple regression in SPSS.
• Download and open the Popularity SPSS data set.
An overview of the data set:
This data set represents hypothetical data from a study that examined how well some core personality traits predict a person’s level of popularity. Personality was measured using the “Big 5,” which is a very commonly used measure of personality. In fact, a Big 5 personality scale was included in the Module Two discussion.
Here is some more information about the variables in this hypothetical data set:
• Number: This is the ID number of the participant
• Sex: Participants’ sex, with “1” standing for male and “2” standing for female
• Age: College year of the participant, with “1” standing for freshman, “2” standing for sophomore, etc.
• Popularity: Popularity measured with a questionnaire that could range from 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating more popularity
• Extroversion: A Big 5 trait indicating level of sociability. Scores range from 1 to 5, with high numbers indicating extroverted and low numbers indicating introverted
• Agreeableness: A Big 5 trait indicating level of interpersonal warmth and friendliness. Scores range from 1 to 5, with high numbers indicating warmth and low numbers indicating coldness towards others
• Conscientiousness: A Big 5 trait indicating level of self-control and responsibility. Scores range from 1 to 5, with high numbers indicating high conscientiousness and low numbers indicating low conscientiousness
• Neuroticism: A Big 5 trait indicating level of anxiety and emotional stability. Scores range from 1 to 5, with high numbers indicating high neuroticism and low numbers indicating low neuroticism
• Openness: A Big 5 trait indicating level of willingness to try new things and creativity. Scores range from 1 to 5, with high numbers indicating high open-mindedness and low numbers indicating closed-mindedness
Questions:
1) Describe in your own words what type of research situations call for a researcher to use a multiple regression analysis.
Type answer below:
2a) Run a basic correlation of matrix for the Popularity, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness variables.
Paste output below (Read carefully: The best way to do this is to select “Copy Special” when copying from the SPSS output. Then select image as a format to copy. When pasting in Word, select Paste Special, choose a picture format, and then resize the image so it fits the screen):
2b) Based on these results, which personality variables are significantly correlated with Popularity?
Type answer below:
3a) Conduct a multiple regression analysis using Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness as predictors of Popularity.
Paste the output below:
3b) Which variables are significant predictors of Popularity? Compare and contrast the results from the multiple regression analysis to the basic correlation results from question 2b.
Type your answer below:
3c) What is the R-squared of this model, and what does it tell us about how well this model predicts Popularity?
Type your answer below:
3d) Write the results of the multiple regression in APA style. For help, refer to the Regression section in this document.
Type answer below:
Questions:
1) Describe in your own words what type of research situations call for a researcher to use a multiple regression analysis.
A multiple regression analysis is good to use when there are one dependent variable and more than one independent variables. A multiple regression analysis can also be used to see if the independent variables foretell the dependent variable. With these statistics, we will see if the big 5 personality traits determine personality.
2a) Run a basic correlation of matrix for the Popularity, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness variables.
Paste output below (Read carefully: The best way to do this is to select “Copy Special” when copying from the SPSS output. Then select image as a format to copy. When pasting in Word, select Paste Special, choose a picture format, and then resize the image so it fits the screen):
2b) Based on these results, which personality variables are significantly correlated with Popularity?
Type answer below:
Out of these five traits, three of them are significantly correlated; extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Agreeableness is significant at the .05 level and extraversion and neuroticism are significant at the .01 level.
3a) Conduct a multiple regression analysis using Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness as predictors of Popularity.
Paste the output below:
| Coefficientsa | ||||||
| Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
| B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
| 1 | (Constant) | 58.947 | 27.198 | 2.167 | .037 | |
| extraversion | 9.549 | 3.831 | .395 | 2.492 | .017 | |
| agreeableness | 4.324 | 3.286 | .185 | 1.316 | .196 | |
| conscientiousness | -3.046 | 4.728 | -.093 | -.644 | .523 | |
| neuroticism | -6.846 | 2.954 | -.340 | -2.318 | .026 | |
| openness | -7.256 | 5.191 | -.218 | -1.398 | .171 | |
| a. Dependent Variable: Popularity |
3b) Which variables are significant predictors of Popularity? Compare and contrast the results from the multiple regression analysis to the basic correlation results from question 2b.
Type your answer below:
Both extraversion and neuroticism are significant predictors, extraversion being the most significant. Neuroticism has a negative t-value which means there’s a negative correlation.
3c) What is the R-squared of this model, and what does it tell us about how well this model predicts Popularity?
Type your answer below:
The R-square of this model is .404. This tells us popularity is influenced by these traits. But further information shows us that only one has a positive significant influence on it (extraversion).
3d) Write the results of the multiple regression in APA style. For help, refer to the Regression section in this document.
Type answer below:
Multiple regression analysis was used to test if the personality traits significantly predicted participants’ popularity. The results of the regression indicated the traits explained 40% of the variance (R2=.404, F(5,42)=5.016, p<.001). It was found that extraversion significantly predicted popularity (B=9.54, p<.017), as did neuroticism (B= -6.84, p<.026).
