Suppose That You Have Just Read a Review of the Literature

question 57

Essay

Suppose that you have just read a review of the literature of the effect of beauty on earnings. You were initially surprised to find a mild effect of beauty even on teaching evaluations at colleges. Intrigued by this effect, you consider explanations as to why more attractive individuals receive higher salaries. One of the possibilities you consider is that beauty may be a marker of performance/productivity. As a result, you set out to test whether or not more attractive individuals receive higher grades (cumulative GPA)at college. You happen to have access to individuals at two highly selective liberal arts colleges nearby. One of these specializes in Economics and Government and incoming students have an average SAT of 2,100; the other is known for its engineering program and has an incoming SAT average of 2,200. Conducting a survey, where you offer students a small incentive to answer a few questions regarding their academic performance, and taking a picture of these individuals, you establish that there is no relationship between grades and beauty. Write a short essay using some of the concepts of internal and external validity to determine if these results are likely to apply to universities in general.

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Definitions:

Perceived Quality

The subjective assessment by consumers of a product's overall excellence or superiority, which may differ from its actual technical quality.

Group Setting

A social or work environment in which activities, discussions, or tasks are performed collaboratively in a group.

Lifetime Value

the total worth to a business of a customer over the whole period of their relationship.

Non-profitable Customers

Customers who do not generate more revenue for a company than the costs incurred to serve them, thus not contributing to the company's profit.