Question: Howell (1992, p. 153) reports on a study by Latané and Dabbs (1975) in which a researcher entered an elevator and dropped a handful of pencils, with the appearance that it was an accident. The question was whether the males or females who observed this mishap would be more likely to help pick up the pencils. The results are shown in the table at the top of the next page.
a. Compute and compare the proportions of males and females who helped pick up the pencils.
b. Compute the chi-square statistic and use it to determine whether there is a statistically significant relationship between the two variables in the table. Explain your result in a way that could be understood by someone who knows nothing about statistics.
c. Would the conclusion in part b have been the same if only 262 people had been observed but the pattern of results was the same? Explain how you reached your answer and what it implies about research of this type.
