What Predicts the Amount of Time That People Spend on the Internet

question 32

Essay

What predicts the amount of time that people spend on the Internet? Based on 2016 GSS data, the regression of hours per week on the Internet (Y) on age, education (number of years completed), and verbal ability (number of correct words on a ten-item vocabulary test) produced the following equation:
Y = 9.327 - .161Age + .348Educ + .489Verbal
a. Explain the meaning of the regression coefficient for Educ (years of education completed)?
b. How much does hours on the Internet change for each increase of one year in a respondent's age?
c. Calculate the number of hours per week on the Internet for a 30-year-old with 16 years of education who got all ten words correct on the vocabulary test.
Using standardized regression coefficients, the multiple regression of Internet hours has the following values (all coefficients are statistically significant):
Y = - .179Age + .065Educ + .064Verbal
d. Which variable has the largest effect on weekly hours on the Internet?

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Definitions:

Jumping To Conclusions

A cognitive distortion where an individual makes a premature, often negative, interpretation without sufficient evidence.

Humanistic Approaches

A psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of the whole person and the uniqueness of each individual's experience.

Unconscious Desires

Wishes or wants that influence behavior without an individual's conscious awareness, often discussed in psychoanalytic theory.

Early Infancy

The initial stage of a child's development, typically referring to the first year of life.