Question

Which of the following statements is true when comparing the dependent means/groups t-test to the independent means/groups t-test?

A. The independent means/groups t test is more sensitive to the effects of the independent variable.

B. The dependent means/groups t test is more sensitive to the effects of the dependent variable.
C. The dependent means/groups t test is less susceptible to a type I or type II statistical error because it generally has more statistical power.
D. Critical values used for the independent means/group t test are generally smaller compared to the critical values for the dependent means/groups t test.

Answer 1

The dependent means/groups t-test is less susceptible to a type I or type II statistical error than the independent means/groups t-test because it has more statistical power due to the comparison of subjects to themselves over time.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to the differences between the dependent means/groups t-test and the independent means/groups t-test. When comparing both the dependent and independent t-tests, the statement that is true is C. The dependent means/groups t-test is less susceptible to a type I or type II statistical error because it generally has more statistical power. This is attributed to the fact that the dependent t-test involves comparing subjects to themselves before and after a treatment or at two different times.

This is in contrast to the independent means/groups t-test, which compares two different groups of unrelated subjects, and hence each group's internal variability can affect the test's sensitivity. The critical value aspect mentioned in option D is not typically accurate; critical values are determined by the degrees of freedom and significance level, which can vary in both tests.