Nonverbal cues, such as eye contact and smiling, have been shown to positively i

Question

Nonverbal cues, such as eye contact and smiling, have been shown to positively influence the assessment of an interview. Because a firm handshake is often viewed as a sign of confidence and strength, it is thought that it may also influence the assessment. To investigate this, some researchers recruited 98 undergraduate students enrolled in an elective, one-credit career preparation course and had them participate in a mock interview. The following table of means, broken down by gender, summarizes the interviewer's impression of a series of characteristics associated with the interview. These impressions were all rated on a 1-to-5 scale with 1 representing "weak" and 5 representing "strong." There were 50 females and 48 males in the study. Characteristic Men Women Conscientiousness 3.8 3.9 3.89 3.81 Extraversion 3.74 3.98 Agreeableness Emotional stability 3.56 3.43 Openness to experience 3.51 3.47 Overall handshake 3.68 3.45 Handshake strength 3.62 3.09 Handshake vigor 3.44 3.27 3.88 3.49 Handshake grip Handshake duration 3.66 3.51 3.88 3.93 Eye contact Professional dress 4.35 4.53 Interviewer assessment 3.74 3.87 For each characteristic, compute the z statistic and the associated P-value for the comparison between the two groups. For all characteristics but the overall interviewer assessment, assume that the standard deviation of the difference is 0.10, so z is simply the difference in the means divided by 0.10. For interviewer assessment, assume that the standard deviation of the difference is 0.19. Note that you are performing 13 significance tests in this exercise.

Explanation / Answer

z score formula is given in the question statement and p values are calculated for a two tailed test.

Significance was determined use alpha = 0.05

Conscientiousness : z = (3.8 - 3.9)/0.10 = -1; P = 0.3173 -> Not significant

Extraversion : z = (3.89 - 3.81)/0.1 = 0.8; P = 0.4237 -> Not significant

Agreeableness : z = (3.74 - 3.98)/0.1 = -2.4; P = 0.0164 -> significant

Emotional Stability : Z = (3.56 - 3.43)/0.1 = 1.3; P = 0.1936 -> Not significant

Openness to experience : z = (3.51 - 3.47)/0.1 = 0.4; P = 0.6892 -> Not significant

Overall handshake : z = (3.68 - 3.45)/0.1 = 2.3; P = 0.0214 -> significant

Handshake strength : z = (3.62 - 3.09)/0.1 = 5.3; P = 0.0000 -> significant

Handshake Vigor : z = (3.44 - 3.27)/0.1 = 1.7; P = 0.0891 -> Not significant

Handshake grip : z = (3.88 - 3.49)/0.1 = 3.9; P = 0.0001 -> significant

Handshake duration : (3.66 - 3.51)/0.1 = 1.5; P = 0.1336 -> Not significant

Eye contact : (3.88 - 3.93)/0.1 = -0.5; P = 0.6171 -> Not significant

Professional dress : z = (4.35 - 4.53)/0.1 = -1.8; P = 0.0719 -> Not significant

Interviewer assessment : z = (3.74 - 3.87)/0.19 = -0.68421 = -0.68; P = 0.4938 -> Not significant

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse N
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.