correlational study involving a stroop test Flashcards
(32 cards)
State the variables you are assessing
- How quickly someone can complete a Stroop test accurately.
- Academic ability
How did you ensure the variables were operationalised?
- Using an online Stroop test that is timed by Washington Faculty of education.
- Using the capped 9 GCSE scored of the participants
State an operationalised experimental hypothesis
There will be a negative correlation between the time it takes to complete a Stroop test accurately and the academic ability of an individual
Identify if your experimental hypothesis is direction or non-directional
Directional.
Justify/explain why you chose to use a directional or non-directional hypothesis
There’s plenty of scientific evidence to support the link that people with higher IQ’s resolve Stroop tests better, e.g. Checa and Rueda (2011). Therefore it’s reasonable to believe that those with higher GCSE scores will be better.
State an appropriate null hypothesis
There id no significant correlation between the time it takes to complete a Stroop test accurately and the academic ability of the individual
Identify the main characteristics of your sample group
26 people: 17 female, 9 male. All 18+ years (can give consent) A Level students, none study psychology.
Identify the sampling method you employed to select your sample
Volunteer/self selected. Notice placed on sixth form common room board stating the two variables measured and asking for 18+ yr olds to respond by email. Given lollipop for their time and told all data would be confidential; kept without their details and had right to withdraw
Explain at least 2 advantages of your choice of sampling technique
- Less ethical issues because they came to us knowing the details of the study and understand their ethical rights.
- Volunteer samples have a low dropout rate, and since the stroop test can be quite stressful, volunteers would be unlikely to drop out
Advantage of the sample
All over 18, same age, and received same education from same school. Volunteer
Explain 2 limitations of your choice of sampling technique
- There’s a chance that the participants don’t represent everyone in society as they knew the variables being measured, so people with bad GCSE grades wouldn’t want to volunteer.
- Volunteer sample participants are more likely to perform better at Stroop test because they volunteered (but this limitation isn’t significant because all were volunteers)
Step by step demonstration of procedures
- Volunteer sample collected.
- Excel sheet to collect data anonymously where each Stroop test time and GCSE scores placed next to eachother (no name)
- Research asks the participant if they completed a stroop test before and if they had they were withdrawn.
- Read consent form, emphasise they can withdraw.
- Under guidance and quiet environment, they read stroop test and timed. If made mistake they were urged to go back and carry on.
Identify an appropriate descriptive statistic that could be used to describe the data collected
Used mean as measurement of central tendency then standard deviation to see the spread of the Stroop scores and GCSE scores to see if they followed normal distribution
Explain why your choice of descriptive statistic is appropriate
None of the capped GCSE nine scores or Stroop test were extreme scores that would effect the mean. This was shown in the fact that both sets of scores showed normal, not skewed, distribution
Identify an appropriate graphical representation that could be used to describe the data collected
A scatter graph to see if there’s a relationship (and its strength) between the participants capped nine GCSE score and their successful Stroop test time
Explain why your choice of graphical representation is appropriate
- The only graphical method of visually demonstrating if there is a correlation between GCSE capped 9 scores and Stroop.
- Quick and clear representation to see if there’s a correlation between the two co-variables
Identify an appropriate inferential statistic that you used to display the data collected
Spearman’s Rho
Explain why your choice of inferential statistic is appropriate
We needed to find the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables. The data we collect on the two co-variables is numerical
Briefly summarise your findings
Spearman’s = -0.45
N = 26
A critical value with a directional hypothesis when N is 26 at 0.05 probability is 0.259. So as our score is further away from the zero and in same direction as the experimental hypothesis predicted, we accept experimental
What conclusions do you draw from the findings
Shows that students that have higher GCSE scores perform significantly better at the Stroop test, supporting previous research in the field by Checa et al
Identify atleast 2 issues of reliability you faced in your research
- Inter-rated reliability between researchers can be a problem. Some may be better at recognising mistakes and getting participant to go back.
- The internal reliability may be unreliable. Performance on first part may be better than end or vice versa.
Explain how you established your research was reliable
- To deal with differences between researchers, classroom based training was held in advance, where common script was formulated then training occurred on how to recognise a mistake.
- Split half technique was done to test internal reliability. In pilot study, psychology students timed each other doing first and second half. Similar
Identify at least two issues of validity you faced
Self serving bias, participants may lie when stating GCSE scores. Stroop may lack concurrent validity: the one used may not be valid as it’s short/unclear compared to other Stroops.
Explain how you established your research was valid
GCSE scores were checked to ensure accuracy. In pilot, Psychology students compared their score on different stroop tests: compared well showing concurrent validity
