Suppose we want to find out whether people are concerned about all the food additives being present in the food they purchase. So, we hypothesize that people would be more likely to by a food product with fewer additives than a similar product with more additives. Let’s say that we conduct this experiment in a local supermarket.

We approach every third customer who enters the supermarket and ask that person to participate in a study of consumer preferences. We show the participant two containers of potato chips. The first container (labeled “Crunchy Chips, in bright cheerful colors) contains the following ingredients: Potatoes, oil, and salt. The second container (labeled “Gumshoe Chips” in dull, unattractive colors) contains the following ingredients: Potatoes, oil, salt, monosodium glutamate, calcium silicate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, polymorphosperversinate, artificial flavor, and artificial color. We now ask our participants to examine both packages and indicate the one they would be more likely to buy, assuming the price of the two items is equal.

Suppose that we get a sample of 236 shoppers. Out of those 236 shoppers, 232 select “Crunchy Chips” as the product they would most likely purchase. May we conclude that shoppers prefer products with less additives? Why or why not?