Under what conditions will consumers dispose of recyclable paper in the garbage? This was the question of interest in an article published in the Journal of Consumer Research (December 2013). In one of the studies conducted, the researchers provided each of 160 college students with a sheet of paper and a pair of scissors to evaluate. Half the students were randomly assigned an extra-large sheet of paper and the other half a half-sheet of paper. Within each group, half the students were asked to cut the paper into four pieces while the other half did not cut the paper. After completing an unrelated task (evaluating the scissors), all students were asked to describe the extent to which “the paper was like garbage” (as opposed to being recyclable) on a 5-point scale. The researchers analyzed the data as a 2 * 2 factorial design, with Paper Size (extra-large or half-sheet) and Paper Distortion (cut paper or not) as the two factors. The resulting partial ANOVA table is shown below.

a. Identify the treatments in this experiment.

b. Using α = .05, is there sufficient evidence of Paper Size by Paper Distortion interaction? Give a practical interpretation of this result.

c. Based on the result, part a, should the researchers conduct the main effect tests for Paper Size and Paper Distortion? Explain.

d. The means of the four treatments were ranked using a multiple comparisons method (EER = .05). Interpret the results shown below.

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Source Size Distortion Size X Distortion Error Total df 1 1 1 153 156 F 11.50 22.07 7.52 p-Value < .001 < .001 < .010