Question

1- In an article entitled “The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome and the Potential Downfall of American Society,” Biology professor Mike Adams provides evidence that “A student’s grandmother is far more likely to die suddenly just before the student takes an exam, than at any other time of the year.” After the data, he reports “Only one conclusion can be drawn from these data. Family members literally worry themselves to death over the outcome of their relatives’ performance on each exam.” He elaborates that the worry causes high blood pressure, resulting in fatal strokes and heart attacks.

For each question, choose the term that makes the statement true.

Prof. Adams has a predictive model in which exams cause grandmothers to worry, which in turn causes grandmother to die. In such a model, ___________________ is a mediating variable.

		taking an exam
		worry
		dying suddenly

2- Situation: Under a new state law, hospitals must report the percentage of people undergoing back surgery who exhibited “significant complications” after surgery.

Indicate whether the situation is appropriately described as measure management, and if it does, whether it is operational distortion or reporting distortion.

The hospital changes their policies to redefine several post-operative outcomes previously considered “significant complications” as being “non-significant complication”. Both the new and old definitions are in compliance with State law.

		Reporting distortion
		Not measure management
		Operational distortion

3- In an article entitled “The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome and the Potential Downfall of American Society,” Biology professor Mike Adams provides evidence that “A student’s grandmother is far more likely to die suddenly just before the student takes an exam, than at any other time of the year.” After the data, he reports “Only one conclusion can be drawn from these data. Family members literally worry themselves to death over the outcome of their relatives’ performance on each exam.” He elaborates that the worry causes high blood pressure, resulting in fatal strokes and heart attacks.

For each question, choose the term that makes the statement true.

Prof. Adams measures grandmother death rates by counting the number of students who report that their grandmother has died. However, he needs to keep in mind that the number of reported deaths is just a ______________ that is capturing the ______________ with a great deal of measurement error.

		proxy; construct
		moderating variable; proxy
		proxy; mediating variable
		mediating variable; construct
		mediating variable; proxy
		proxy; moderating variable

Answer 1

1. Worry

The mediator variable is the kind of variable which is the source of the mediation in the independent and the dependent variable. In short, it states the relationship among the independent and the dependent variable. And the process of completing the mediation is the complete intervention which is rooted by the mediator variable.

So, in the given case, the Worry is the mediator variable among the fatal strokes and the high blood pressure.

2. Yes, the situation is appropriately stated as the management measure. It is a Reporting distortion

As the hospitals are in the procedure of redefining both the non significant and the significant complications, also reporting the percentage of people bearing the severe complications after the surgery, which could consequence in the modified report.

3. The correct answer is proxy and construct

As measuring the grandmother death rates by the Prof. Adams through counting of the number of students, who reported their grandmother has died. So, he is just keeping a proxy which is construct with the great deal from the measurement error.