GSS 2014 respondents were asked, “Some people say the following things are important for being truly American. Others say they are not important. How important do you think each of the following is—to be a Christian?” Responses were measured on a 4-point scale: 1 = very important, 2 = fairly important, 3 = not very important, and 4 = not important at all. Those with a high school degree had an average score of 2.35 (s = 1.21, N = 189) while respondents with a bachelor’s degree had an average score of 3.05 (s = 1.05, N = 61).
1. What is the appropriate test statistic? Why?
2. Test the null hypothesis with a one-tailed test (conservatives are less likely to believe being Christian is not important at all); α = .05. What do you conclude about the difference in attitudes between high school and bachelor’s degree graduates?
3. If you conducted a two-tailed test with α = .05, would your decision have been different?