Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

Nolan and Heinzen’s uniquely effective introduction to statistics captivates students with its real-world storytelling and examples, its highly visual approach to teaching statistics, its accessible treatment of mathematical topics, and its helpful, step-by-step worked examples. The new edition focuses on enhancing those signature strengths while adding powerful new tools to the book’s media offerings.

What's in the LaunchPad

Susan Nolan turned to psychology after suffering a career-ending accident on her second workday as a bicycle messenger. A native of Boston, she graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Northwestern University. Her research involves experimental investigations of the role of gender in the interpersonal consequences of depression and studies of gender and mentoring in science and technology, funded in part by the National Science Foundation. Susan is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as an Associate Professor of Psychology, at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. She has served as a statistical consultant to researchers at several universities, medical schools, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations. Recently, she advised Bosnian high school students conducting public opinion research. Susan's academic schedule allows her to pursue one travel adventure per year, a tradition that she relishes. In recent years she rode her bicycle across the U.S. (despite her earlier crash), swapped apartments to live in Montreal, and explored the Adriatic coast in an intermittently roadworthy 1985 Volkswagen Scirocco. She wrote much of this book while spending a sabbatical year in rural Bosnia-Herzegovina, where her husband, Ivan Bojanic, worked as an advisor to regional governments. Susan and Ivan fell in love with Bosnia – a beautiful country – and bought a small house in the city of Banja Luka as a base for future adventures. They currently reside in New York City, where Susan roots feverishly, if quietly, for the Red Sox.

Tom Heinzen was a 29 year-old college freshman, began graduate school when their fourth daughter was one week old, and is still amazed that he and Donna somehow managed to stay married. A magna cum laude graduate of Rockford College, he earned his Ph.D. in social psychology at the State University of New York at Albany in just three years. He published his first book on frustration and creativity in government two years later, was a research associate in public policy until he was fired over the shape of a graph, consulted for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and then began a teaching career at William Paterson State University of New Jersey. He founded the psychology club, established an undergraduate research conference, and has been awarded various teaching honors while continuing to write journal articles, books, plays, and two novels that support the teaching of general psychology and statistics. He is also the editor of Many Things to Tell You, a volume of poetry by elderly writers. Tom's wife Donna is a physician assistant who has also volunteered her time in relief work following Hurricane Mitch and Hurricane Katrina. Their daughters are now scattered from Bangladesh to Mississippi to New Jersey and work in public health, teaching, and medicine. He is a mediocre French horn player, an enthusiastic but mediocre tennis player, and an ardent baseball fan (Go Cubs!).

1. An Introduction to Statistics and Research Design
2. Frequency Distributions
3. Visual Displays of Data
4. Central Tendency and Variability
5. Sampling and Probability
6. The Normal Curve, Standardization, and z Scores
7. Hypothesis Testing with z Tests
8. Confidence Intervals, Effect Size, and Power
9. The Single-Sample t Test
10. The Paired-Samples t Test
11. The Independent-Samples t Test
12. Between-Groups ANOVA
13. Within-Groups ANOVA
14. Two-Way Between-Groups ANOVA
15. Correlation 
16. Regression
17. Chi Square Tests
18. Nonparametric Tests with Ordinal Data

Appendix A: Reference for Basic Mathematics
Appendix B: Statistical Tables
Appendix C: Solutions to Odd-Numbered End-of-Chapter Problems
Appendix D: Solutions to Check Your Learning Problems
Appendix E: Choosing the Appropriate Statistical Test
Appendix F: Reporting Statistics
Appendix G: Building Better Graphs Using Excel