Discussion:
Experimental Research - Is there an interaction between word
Researchers are interested in how long it takes to read words as a function of (a) word length and (b) word concreteness. They present 48 participants with a list of 80 words of four different types: short concrete words, (e.g., map) long concrete words (e.g., alligator), short abstract words (truth), and long abstract words (e.g., acknowledgment). Following are the reading times (in milliseconds) for each condition.
Short Concrete: 600 Short Abstract: 950
Long Concrete: 770 Long Abstract: 1100
Questions:
1. Identify the independent and dependent variable(s) of this hypothetical experimental study.
2. Did this experiment employ a within- or between-subjects design? Explain.
3. Are any main effects evident in the data? Explain.
4. Is there an interaction between word length and word type? Explain.