PSY 870: Module 7 Problem Set

Optimism and Longevity

A cancer specialist from the Los Angeles County General Hospital (LACGH) rated patient optimism in 20- to 40-year-old male patients with incurable cancer in 1970. In 1990, the researcher examined hospital records to gather the following data:

• Socioeconomic status (1–7 rating of occupation; higher ratings indicate higher levels of SES)

• Age in 1970

• Optimism in 1970 (1–100 rating, higher scores indicate higher levels of optimism)

• Longevity (years lived after the 1970 diagnosis)

Using the SPSS data file for Module 7 (located in Topic Materials), calculate a simultaneous multiple regression with SES, age, and optimism as the independent variables and longevity as the dependent variable.

1. Do the independent variables correlate statistically significantly and practically with the dependent variable?

2. Is collinearity between the independent variables a concern?

3. What is the R and adjusted R-square for all independent variables entered simultaneously?

4. What variable(s) provide a significant unique contribution(s)?
5. Compose a results section for this statistical analysis.