Causality and Inference: Tests of Difference and Relationship - Assignment Example

Each subject named both aggressive and non-aggressive words following both weapon and non-weapon “primes”. The design, therefore, was a 2 (prime type: weapons vs. non-weapon) x 2 (target type: aggressive vs. non-aggressive) within-subjects factorial design. The times in each of these four conditions were used as the dependent variable. A computer presented a priming stimulus word (either a weapon or a non-weapon word) for 1.25 seconds, a blanks screen for 0.5 seconds, and then a target word (aggressive or non-aggressive word).

The experiment instructed the subjects to read the first word to them and then read the second word aloud as quickly as they could. The computer recorded reaction times. Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics of weapon and agression study. The average weapons prime effect was 0.54 seconds (SD = 1.71 seconds). The average non-weapons prime effect was -0.30 seconds (SD = 1.91 seconds). The difference-total effect of weapons and agression was 0.84 seconds (SD = 2.20 seconds). The median height and weight of subjects was about 68 inches and 163 pounds.

The average difference-total effect of weapons and aggression for age category 16-19, 20-25, and 26-39 years are -0.32 seconds (SD = 1.39 seconds), -0.28 seconds (SD = 1.32 seconds), and 2.52 seconds (SD = 2.17 seconds), respectively. This indicates that there is difference in difference-total effect of weapons and aggression between age group. The mean difference-total effect of weapons and aggression based on age category is significant, F(2, 29) = 10.17, p