hypothetical data; PSY 520 SPSS Assignment 1

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:

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).