Can money spent on gifts buy love? Is the gift you purchased for that special someone really appreciated?

This was the question investigated in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 45, 2009). The researchers examined the link between engagement ring price (dollars) and level of appreciation of the recipient

(measured on a 7-point scale where 1 = “not at all” and 7 = “to a great extent”). Participants for the study were those who used a popular Web site for engaged couples.

The Web site’s directory was searched for those with

“average” American names (e.g., “John Smith,” “Sara Jones”). These individuals were then invited to participate in an online survey in exchange for a $10 gift certificate.

Of the respondents, those who paid really high or really low prices for the ring were excluded, leaving a sample size of 33 respondents.

a. Identify the experimental units for this study.

b. What are the variables of interest? Are they quantitative or qualitative in nature?

c. Describe the population of interest.

d. Do you believe the sample of 33 respondents is representative of the population? Explain.

e. In a second, designed study, the researchers investigated whether the link between gift price and level of appreciation was stronger for birthday gift givers than for birthday gift receivers. The participants were randomly assigned to play the role of gift-giver or gift-receiver.

Assume that the sample consists of 50 individuals. Use a random number generator to randomly assign 25 individuals to play the gift-receiver role and 25 to play the gift-giver role.